Feds Won't Re-Open Inquiry in Buddy Holly Crash

The National Transportation Safety Board has declined a request to reopen the investigation of the Iowa plane crash that killed musicians Buddy Holly, Ritchie Valens, and JP "The Big Bopper" Richardson. The Civil Aeronautics Board ruled in 1959 that the most likely cause of the crash was pilot error. Snow was listed as a secondary cause. "While your letters imply facts by stating (It was reported), they do not contain the evidence needed to substantiate the information you present as factual," reads the April 21 letter to pilot LJ Coon, per the Mason City Globe Gazette. Coon, who requested the new inquiry, had contended that there were other issues involving weight and balance calculations, fuel-gauge readings, and more that contributed to the crash. Coon didn't respond to a request for comment yesterday. (More Buddy Holly stories.)