The Big Bopper away their plane seats, Holly joked, "Well, I hope your ol' bus freezes up again." Jennings jokingly replied, "Well, I hope your ol' plane crashes." Those words haunted Jennings for the rest of his life. The Clear Lake show ended at around midnight, and Holly, Valens, and Richardson drove to the Mason City Airport, loaded their luggage, and boarded the red and white single-engine Beechcraft Bonanza. Peterson received clearance from the control tower around 1 a.m. on February 3, 1959 and they took off—but the plane remained airborne for only a few minutes. It slammed into the ground at full
Ritchie Valens hospitalized with severely frostbitten feet, and several others, including Valens and the Big Bopper, caught the flu. The show was split into two acts, with Valens closing the first act. After Bunch was hospitalized, Carlo Mastrangelo of the Belmonts took over the drumming duties. When Dion and the Belmonts were performing, the drum seat was taken by either Valens or Buddy Holly. A surviving color photograph shows Valens at the drum kit. Black and white photos found in 2014 taken by Mary Gerber on February 2, 1959, which are on display at the Surf Ballroom show Buddy Holly playing drums