A V-tailed similar to N3794N, the accident aircraft Anderson called Hubert Jerry Dwyer 1930—2016 , owner of the Dwyer Flying Service in Mason City, to charter the plane to fly to Fargo's , the closest one to Moorhead | Richardson's body had been thrown over the fence and into the cornfield of Juhl's neighbor Oscar Moffett, while Peterson's body was entangled in the wreckage |
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County Ralph Smiley certified that all four victims died instantly, citing the cause of death as " to brain" for the three artists and "brain damage" for the pilot | Even as Holly's mother heard the news of his death on the radio, Maria Elena saw the report on the television |
At the time, Holly and his band, consisting of , , and , were playing on the "Winter Dance Party" across the.
23Picture: Buddy Holly's pregnant wife, María Elena, found out abou his death from TV reports | The next scheduled destination after Clear Lake was , , a 365-mile 590 km drive north-northwest—and, as a reflection of the poor quality of the tour planning, a journey that would take them directly back through two towns they had already played within the last week |
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Without witnesses, what really happened may never truly be known, but the day three promising musicians lost their lives will be remembered by history forever | The schedule required the musicians to zig-zag their way across the upper Midwest in a seemingly random pattern |
Later that morning, Dwyer, having heard no word from Peterson since his departure, took off in another airplane to retrace Peterson's planned route.
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