Valens was not at school that day because he was attending the funeral of his grandfather. Recurring nightmares of the disaster led to Valens' fear of flying, which he overcame after he launched his music career. 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 February 3, 1959.