A more recent case came to light in 2007 with Bass ' agreement to exhume the body of the late J.P. Richardson , Jr , more famously known as " The Big Bopper " . He was one of the three musicians that died in a plane crash in February 1959 . His son , Jay Richardson , had never met his father and , knowing the strange controversies surrounding the plane crash , decided to contact Bass to see if he could gather any answers . Questions lingered as to whether or not Buddy Holly 's gun found at the scene of the crash had been fired earlier or if Richardson had managed to survive the initial crash and simply died trying to get away . After exhumation of the body , Bass examined it using a portable X-ray system . After X-ray examination , Bass was able to come to a fairly certain conclusion : Richardson died immediately upon impact . He showed Jay Richardson the numerous breaks and fractures throughout his father 's body , including his chest , skull , pelvis , and legs which inhibited ambulatory motion . All of the rumors and debates surrounding Richardson 's death could finally be put to rest , and it was due largely in part to Bass and his extensive knowledge of forensic anthropology
a plane crash
The Day the Music Died
University of Tennessee Anthropological Research Facility