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After the February 2, 1959, performance in Clear Lake, Iowa (which ended around midnight), Holly, Richardson, and Valens flew out of the Mason City airport in a small plane that Holly had chartered. Valens was on the plane since he won a coin toss with Holly's backup guitarist Tommy Allsup. Holly's bassist, Waylon Jennings, voluntarily gave up his seat on the plane to J.P. Richardson, who was ill with the flu.[20] At around 12:55 a.m. on February 3, 1959, the four-passenger Beechcraft Bonanza, (N3794N), departed for Fargo, North Dakota, and crashed a few minutes after takeoff. The cause was apparently loss of control by the pilot Roger Peterson, who was not qualified for the deteriorating weather.[21] The crash killed all three passengers and pilot instantly upon impact. As with Holly and Richardson, Valens suffered massive and unsurvivable head injuries along with blunt-force trauma to the chest. At the age of 17, Valens was the youngest to die in the crash.
The tragedy inspired singer Don McLean to write his 1971 hit "American Pie", immortalizing February 3 as "The Day the Music Died". Valens's remains were buried at San Fernando Mission Cemetery in Mission Hills, Los Angeles, California.
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