1971 Colorado Aviation Aero Commander 680 crash

The 1971 Colorado Aviation Aero Commander 680 crash claimed the life of decorated American World War II veteran Audie Murphy and five other people on May 28, 1971. The aircraft's passengers were on a business trip from Atlanta, Georgia, to Martinsville, Virginia, aboard an Aero Commander 680 Super twin-engined aircraft owned and operated by Colorado Aviation Co, Inc. The aircraft crashed into the side of Brush Mountain, 14 nmi northwest of Roanoke, Virginia, during conditions of poor visibility.

The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) concluded that the crash was caused by the pilot's decision to continue operating under visual flight rules (VFR) into instrument meteorological conditions (IMC), combined with his lack of experience in the aircraft type.

Accident

On the morning of May 28, 1971, an Aero Commander 680 Super prepared to depart DeKalb–Peachtree Airport in Atlanta, operating as an unscheduled passenger air taxi flight under visual flight rules (VFR) to its destination of Blue Ridge Airport in Martinsville, Virginia, located 284 nmi northeast. The estimated flight time was 1 hour and 46 minutes.

Before takeoff, the Aero Commander's pilot requested a weather report by phone and decided weather along the route was safe for visual flying. No flight plan was required and none was filed. Air traffic control at Peachtree cleared the flight and the aircraft departed at 09:10 EDT. As the flight continued, weather conditions deteriorated, and 2 hours and 20 minutes after takeoff, at 11:30, witnesses in Galax, Virginia (60 mi due west of Martinsville) reported seeing the plane flying circles in and out of the clouds at approximately 150 ft above ground level (AGL). Shortly afterward, the aircraft unsuccessfully attempted to land on a four-lane highway northwest of Galax. After making a pass over the town at near treetop level, the aircraft left the area heading west towards the Blue Ridge Mountains.

The last communication with the aircraft was at 11:49, when the pilot contacted the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) Flight Service Station at Roanoke's Woodrum Airport asking for a weather report and saying he intended to land there.

At this point, the aircraft had flown past its destination of Martinsville and was west of and below the peaks of the Blue Ridge Mountains. The latest weather report radioed by Roanoke advised measured ceiling 1000 ft broken, 2500 ft overcast, visibility 3 mi in light rain and fog, with "mountain ridges obscured". The pilot did not indicate he was in any kind of trouble or report the aircraft's current position.

At 12:08, the aircraft impacted the west side of Brush Mountain at the 2700 ft level while flying at "high speed, level attitude" on a heading of 100° to the Roanoke VORTAC navigation beacon. The collision into the heavily wooded slope and post-crash fire destroyed the aircraft, and all six people on board received fatal injuries.