1957 Pacoima mid-air collision: Difference between revisions

The DC-7B, with a portion of its left wing sheared off, remained airborne for a few minutes then rolled to the left and began an uncontrollable, spiraling, high-velocity dive earthward. In doing so, it began raining debris onto the Pacoima neighborhoods below as the aircraft began to break apart. Seconds later, part of the hurtling wreckage slammed onto the grounds of the Pacoima Congregational Church, killing all four Douglas crewmen aboard while the major portions fell onto the adjacent playground of [[Pacoima Middle School|Pacoima Junior High School]]. On the school playground, where some 220 boys were just ending their outdoor athletic activities, the wreckage broke upon impact into numerous pieces and intense fires began due to the aircraft's fuel and oil. Distinct craters were made in the playground by each of the four engines and the main center fuselage section. Two students were struck and killed by this wreckage and debris. A third gravely injured student died two days later in a local hospital. An estimated 75 more students on the school playground suffered injuries ranging from critical to minor.<ref name="joangushin-1">{{Cite web|url=http://www.joangushin.net/crashpictures.html|title = Crash Pictures}}</ref>

Valens was not at school that day because he was attending the funeral of his grandfather.<ref> {{cite web|url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2007-jan-28-me-then28-story.html?_amp=true|author= CECILIA RASMUSSEN|title=The day fiery disaster fell from the sky|website= [[Los Angeles Times]]|date=January 28, 2007|access-date=May 15, 2021}}</ref><ref> {{cite web|url=https://www.eastbaytimes.com/2021/02/19/childhood-pal-recalls-ritchie-valens-as-sweet-tough-from-murrieta-home/ |author= Allen, David |title=Childhood pal recalls Ritchie Valens as 'sweet,' 'tough' from California home|date=February 19, 2021|access-date=May 15, 2021}}</ref> Recurring nightmares of the disaster led to Valens' [[fear of flying]],<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1988-12-29-me-1334-story.html |author= Kahler, Karl |title=On Pacoima Playground With Ritchie Valens : Grief Moves Him to Save Lives|website= [[Los Angeles Times]] |quote=One student developed an intense fear of flying after the accident--Ricardo Valenzuela, who later adopted the name Ritchie Valens.|date=Dec 29, 1988|access-date=May 15, 2021}}</ref> which he overcame after he launched his music career. However, in the nightmare sequences of the film, the collision was portrayed by two [[general aviation]] aircraft (one of which was a [[Beechcraft Bonanza]] in which Valens actually died), as opposed to the accident aircraft in the actual disaster. Ironically, Valens, along with fellow rock 'n' rollers [[Buddy Holly]] and [[The Big Bopper]], and pilot Roger Peterson, perished two years later in an airplane crash when their chartered [[Beechcraft Bonanza]] crashed near [[Mason City, Iowa]], in the early morning hours of [[The Day the Music Died|February 3, 1959]].

The crash (1957 Pacoima mid-air collision) was discussed on the May 19, 1957, episode of ''[[The CBS Radio Workshop]]'' (entitled "Heaven Is In the Sky").<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.digitaldeliftp.com/DigitalDeliToo/dd2jb-CBS-Radio-Workshop.html|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20150115221408/http://www.digitaldeliftp.com/DigitalDeliToo/dd2jb-CBS-Radio-Workshop.html|title=The Definitive CBS Radio Workshop Radio Log with Parley Baer, Herb Butterfield and William Conrad|archivedate=January 15, 2015|accessdate=January 15, 2015}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://archive.org/details/CBSRadioWorkshop|title = CBS Radio Workshop}}</ref> The program described when and how both planes took off from their respective airfields, and included discussion of how the Pacoima Junior High School was having the 7th grade students outside for exercise. It also included interviews with people who were witnesses and/or affected by the crash.