Pat Shingleton for Friday, Feb. 3, 2012

Experienced pilot Roger Peterson did not have an instrument rating when he piloted a plane on the fateful night of Feb. 3, 1959. As noted previously, weather conditions at Mason City, Iowa, included overcast skies, 6,000-foot ceiling, 15-mile visibility, temperature of 16 degrees, south winds at 25 knots with gusts to 32. At 12:40 a.m., with light snow falling, an advisory from Kansas City warned of “moderate to locally heavy icing below 10,000 feet over most of Iowa.” At 1 a.m., the single-engine Beechcraft Bonanza was airborne, climbing 800 feet, then crashing into a field 5 miles north of Mason City. Wreckage was scattered over 540 feet. The crash killed musicians Buddy Holly, “The Big Bopper” J.P. Richardson and Richie Valens.

Fastcast: Showers.