The pilot with 711 hours who flew Buddy Holly's plane into a snowstorm

The pilot’s name was Roger Peterson, and he was twenty-one years old.

He had logged about 711 hours of total flight time, according to the Civil Aeronautics Board investigation.

That is not a large number.

He was not certified for instrument flight rules, the CAB noted — meaning he was not qualified to fly solely by reference to instruments.

He was qualified to fly by what he could see out the window.

The plane was a chartered Beechcraft Bonanza 35, registered N3794N, from Dwyer's Flying Service.

It took off from Mason City Municipal Airport shortly after 1:00 a.m. on February 3, 1959.

The weather was poor.

The exact conditions at takeoff are not fully established; reports vary on light snow and visibility.

Light snow, reduced visibility — that is what the record suggests, without fixing the numbers.

He was going to fly into that.

He was going to fly three passengers to Fargo, North Dakota, in a single-engine aircraft, at night, in snow, without an instrument rating.

Was he unaware of the risk?

Was he pressured?

Was he simply told the weather was manageable?

The record does not say.

The record says he had 711 hours.

The record says he was not instrument-rated.

The record says the plane left the ground shortly after 1:00 a.m.

That would require evidence to answer.

THE NIGHT BEFORE

The musicians had just played the Surf Ballroom in Clear Lake, Iowa.

It was the “Winter Dance Party” tour, a string of one-nighters across the Midwest.

The tour was organized by promoter Irving Feld.

The passengers that night were Buddy Holly, Ritchie Valens, and The Big Bopper.

All three were musicians on the tour.

The plane was chartered from Dwyer’s Flying Service.

The specific reason the musicians decided to charter the plane is not in the record.

It was a small Beechcraft Bonanza, built in 1947.

The tour bus had been breaking down in the cold, the story often goes.

That is the story, not the record.

The record says the charter was arranged.

The record says the flight was bound for Fargo, North Dakota.

The night had the ordinary, hopeful energy of a tour stop.

A show done, a ride to the next town.

The plane waited on the field at Mason City Municipal Airport.

The musicians climbed in.