[Editor’s note: Today we bring you a guest submission by Leon “Pete” Kelley, an FAA Aviation Safety Inspector, following the recent release of the NTSB’s final report on the fatal Oct. 1, 2023 crash involving aviation safety advocate, Richard McSpadden Jr.]

Buddy Holly and the Day the Music Died

On Feb. 3, 1959, Buddy Holly was killed in a plane crash near Clear Lake, Iowa. When the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame was created in 1986, John Fogerty inducted Buddy Holly. The class of 1986 also included Elvis Presley, Chuck Berry, James Brown, Ray Charles, Little Richard, Jerry Lee Lewis and Robert Johnson. Not bad company!

In 1954, Buddy Holly launched a musical revolution by modernizing traditional genres, including blues, country, and bluegrass, for a youthful audience. He brought an innovativ

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