What was the name of the airplane that crashed killing Buddy Holly, Richie Valens, The Big Bopper, and the pilot?

gtho4

It was a red Beechcaft Bonanza named 'Miss American Pie'. http://www.famoustexans.com/buddyholly.htm Its number was N 3794N http://www.fiftiesweb.com/cab.htm Aug 26 02, 2:30 AM

Gnomon

According to this site http://www.fiftiesweb.com/crash.htm the plane was not called 'American Pie', didn't have a name, it only had a serial number. Another site which is very reliable http://ww.snopes.com also confirms that the plane was not called American Pie and did not have a name. You will find this under Music/Pop Stars/Buddy Holly. Aug 26 02, 1:07 PM

gtho4

So much for the website I found, Gnomon is spot on, the plane did not have a name. A colour picture of the crash site this page (it's not a pretty site): http://www.angelfire.com/mn/pdp2/crashpics.html confirms the wing number of the plane as N3794N. On the page http://www.angelfire.com/mn/pdp2/crashstats.html is a copy of the invoice from Dwyer Flying Service dated Monday, 2nd February 1959, plus this description of the plane: Beechcraft Bonanza, model 35, serial # D-1019, wing number N3794N, manufactured October 1947, sold to Jerry Dwyer, Dwyer Flying Service, of Mason City, IA ... The plane had no 'name' as many believe. It was not named the 'American Pie' as in the Don Mclean song! A copy of the Accident Investigation Report by the Civil Aeronautics Board, released on 23rd September 23 1959, is on this page http://www.avsaf.org/case/library/reports1/10.html and makes no mention of the plane's name. Aug 27 02, 4:03 AM

Friar Tuck

http://www.entrypoints.com/AmericanPie/AmPie_LineByLine.html explains the lyrics to the song and says - Some people say the 'Miss American Pie' part refers in part to a romance Don McLean had with a Miss America pageant candidate. Unlikely. More likely is that he has feminized 50's rock music here, the fact that it's a virgin (Miss) form of music that's as American as apple pie. Aug 27 02, 7:07 AM

gtho4

indeed, and someone, with a lot of free time on their hands, has written a whole web site analyzing the song, verse by verse http://americanpie.smithcraft.org Aug 27 02, 10:25 AM

hummerh3

The airplane that carried Buddy Holly to his death was not named "American Pie." http://www.snopes.com/music/artists/amerpie.htm Feb 14 04, 5:48 PM

Av8trxx

N3794N was a Beechcraft "Bonanza" airplane. That was the name given to the model by the manufacturer. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Beechcraft_Bonanza May 01 06, 12:30 AM