Pilot On Holly’s Plane Crash Was Not Qualified

by Kevin Burton    The 21-year-old pilot of the plane that crashed on this day in 1959, taking the lives of three famous young musicians was not qualified for the flight, according to published accounts.    The crash, which took the lives of Buddy Holly, Ritchie Valens and J.P. Richardson (The Big Bopper) has been …

Buddy Holly’s Visual And Musical Acuity

by Kevin Burton    I have never seen a picture of Buddy Holly without his thick glasses, but I never have pondered whether he was legally blind until now.    He probably was not, by the way, though he had poor vision. More about that in a bit.    This comes up today on the …

A Day For Making A List, Checking It Twice

by Kevin Burton    In the aftermath of a Boeing B-17 plane crash in 1935 administrators and pilots invented a way to make sure all safety procedures have been followed, and stopped relying on the pilot’s memory.    This was the birth of the mighty checklist, according to the National Day Calendar.  Today is national …