Īt 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 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. After making a pass over the town at near treetop level, the aircraft left the area heading west towards the Blue Ridge Mountains. Shortly afterward the aircraft unsuccessfully attempted to land on a four-lane highway northwest of Galax. As the flight continued, weather conditions deteriorated, and 2 hr, 20 min after take off, at 11:30, witnesses in Galax, Virginia (60 miles due west of Martinsville) reported seeing the plane flying circles in and out of the clouds at approximately 150 feet above ground level (AGL). Air traffic control at Peachtree cleared the flight and the aircraft departed at 09:10 EDT. No flight plan was required and none was filed. īefore takeoff, the Aero Commander's pilot requested a weather report by phone, and decided weather along the route was safe for visual flying. The estimated flight time was 1 hr, 46 min. 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 VFR to its destination of Blue Ridge Airport in Martinsville, Virginia, located 284 nautical miles northeast. 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. The aircraft crashed into the side of Brush Mountain, 14 nautical miles northwest of Roanoke, Virginia, during conditions of poor visibility.
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 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.
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