Bill Smith, a pilot and retired flight crash investigator, spoke at our May 10th meeting about the Buddy Holly plane crash.
Member Clint Wood Introduced Bill Smith as our weekly program. As a pilot and a retired flight crash investigator, he was able to inform us about the famous Buddy Holly plane crash on February 3, 1959, a sad day for many of us in the Wichita Falls area.
Don McClean’s 1971 song “American Pie” was about the Buddy Holly plane crash, which also took the lives of The Big Bopper, who sang Chantilly Lace” and Ritchie Valens, who sang “La Bamba.” The crash investigation showed the accident was due to an inexperienced pilot! Sadly, Buddy’s mother and pregnant wife saw the news story on TV before they were notified! A very sad loss of great musical talent! Many thanks to Bill for his presentation!