( CNN ) It 's the day the music died . In the early morning hours of February 3 , 1959 , a small aircraft carrying Buddy Holly , Ritchie Valens and J.P. `` The Big Bopper '' Richardson crashed a few miles from Mason City Municipal Airport , near Clear Lake , Iowa . Pilot Roger Peterson also died in the crash . The voice of the hit songs `` Peggy Sue '' and `` That 'll Be the Day '' was silenced forever . A few months later , the Civil Aeronautics Board blamed the accident primarily on the pilot 's lack of qualification and certification to fly solely by instruments and secondarily on an inadequate weather briefing . ( PDF ) . Now , the National Transportation Safety Board , the successor to the aeronautics board , may be taking another look . The NTSB received a letter from aviation enthusiast L.J . Coon , a self-described retired pilot and aircraft dispatcher , asking it to look at other possible contributing factors to the crash . They include the aircraft 's weight and balance calculations ( for passengers , baggage and fuel ) , possible issues with rudder panels and possible carburetor Induction icing , Coon told CNN in an email . `` You have gotten our attention , '' the NTSB wrote in February , saying it would examine the information he provided , Coon 's email said . The NTSB never fully closes a case , but any petition to re-examine a crash needs to show that there is new information suggesting the original probable cause is incorrect , NTSB spokesman Eric Weiss said . The agency has two months to review the petition and decide whether there 's new information that would make it revisit the case . In 1959 , Holly , Valens and Richardson were part of the Winter Dance Party , a tour that had started in Milwaukee and traveled to small cities in Minnesota and Iowa . The musicians had traveled in subfreezing temperatures in unheated buses , and people were getting sick . Holly booked the four-seat aircraft to fly to Fargo , North Dakota , where he planned to finally do laundry and rest in advance of the group 's next concert in nearby Moorhead , Minnesota . Country legend Waylon Jennings , then Holly 's bass player , gave up his seat to a sick Richardson . Jennings , who died in 2002 at age 64 , was haunted by his decision for years to come . Dion and the Belmonts were also on the tour , but Dion gave up his seat on the plane after hearing the $ 36 per-person price tag . He was the only headliner not on the plane and the only headliner who did n't die that night . Fans remember 'the Day the Music Died ' The crash has inspired generations of artists . Lou Diamond Phillips played Ritchie Valens ( originally Valenzuela ) in the 1987 hit movie `` La Bamba . '' Gary Busey played Holly in the 1978 movie `` The Buddy Holly Story . '' Don McLean , who was inspired by Holly 's music , memorialized that day as `` The Day the Music Died '' in his 1971 song `` American Pie . ''
Pilot error and snow were reasons stated for Buddy Holly plane crash . An aviation enthusiast has new theories for crash that also killed the Big Bopper and Lou Diamond Phillips .