Another Look At Plane Crash That Killed Music Legends

The son of rock 'n roll's Big Bopper wants some answers into the plane crash that killed his father, Buddy Holly, and Ritchie Valens nearly 50 years ago. Their plane went down north of Clear Lake, IA, during a tour of the midwest.

Jay Richardson, son of the Big Bopper, whose real name was J.P. Richardson, has hired forensic anthropologist Dr. Bill Bass to help with the investigation. Bass is the founder of the University of Tennessee's research facility nicknamed the Body Farm, according to the Associated Press. The body will be exhumed from its Beaumont, TX, grave in March.

Bass, an expert in determining identities and causes of death, had confirmed the identity of the Lindbergh baby, who was kidnapped in 1932 and murdered.

Bass said his goal is to "document all the fractures and get an idea of how many broken bones and which ones are critical and give them as much information as I can about the crash and how it affected his father."

Bass may also be able to determine if the Big Bopper was thrown from the wreckage or if he walked away.

Holly chartered a four-passenger Beech Bonanza on February 3, 1959, because the group's bus was cold and prone to breaking down. The plane crashed, killing all on board-a tragedy memorialized as "the day the music died" in Don McLean's song American Pie.

After the crash, an autopsy was performed on the pilot, but not on the passengers.

"I'm not looking for any great bombshell," Richardson said, "but then again, you never know."

He hopes an examination will settle rumors that someone might have fired a gun on board. It may also tell whether the Big Bopper might have survived the actual crash, but then died trying to go for help.

Two unusual discoveries at the crash site gave rise to rumors about what might have happened on the flight from Mason City, IA. First, the Big Bopper's body was discovered nearly 40 feet from the wreckage, while the other bodies were found at the site; and a gun, registered to Holly, was discovered in a farmer's field two months after the crash.

Newspaper accounts of the gun discovery fueled rumors among fans that the pilot was somehow shot, causing the crash. The owner of the flying service added to the conspiracy theory by insisting his pilot was not at fault.

After the forensic investigation, Big Bopper's remains will be reburied and a statue erected on the site.

"I don't know how I would feel to know that my father died some other way than what I believed most of my life," said Richardson, who never met his father, as his mother was pregnant with him at the time of the crash. He now performs tribute shows as the Big Bopper Jr.

FMI: www.fiftiesweb.com