The 1971 Colorado Aviation Aero Commander 680 crash claimed the lives of World War II veterans Voice Audie Murphy and five others on May 28, 1971. The passenger plane was on a business trip from Atlanta, Georgia to Martinsville, Virginia, Aero Commander 680 Super twin is owned and operated by Colorado Aviation Co., Inc. The plane crashed to the side of Brushy Mountain, 14 nautical miles northwest of Roanoke, Virginia during poor visibility conditions.
The National Transportation Safety Council (NTSB) concluded that the accident was caused by a pilot's decision to continue operating under visual flight rules (VFR) into instrument meteorological conditions (IMC), combined with a lack of experience in this type of aircraft.
Video 1971 Colorado Aviation Aero Commander 680 crash
Accident
On the morning of May 28, 1971, a Super Aero 680 Commander was ready to depart from DeKalb-Peachtree Airport in Atlanta. The airline operates as a non-scheduled air taxi passenger flight under visual flight rules to Blue Ridge Airport destinations in Martinsville, 284 nautical miles northeast, with an estimated flight time of 1 hour 46 minutes.
Before taking off, the pilot requests a weather report over the phone and decides the weather along the safe route to fly visually. No flight plan is required and nothing is filed. Air traffic control at Peachtree clears the fight and the plane leaves at 09:10 EST. As the flight progressed, weather conditions deteriorated, and two hours and twenty minutes after take-off, at 11:30 some of Galax's residents, Virginia (60 miles west of Martinsville), reported seeing Aero Commander flying in and out of the clouds. about 150 meters above ground level (AGL). Shortly afterwards the plane failed to land on a four-lane highway northwest of the Galax. After making a pass through the city near the treetops, the plane leaves the area heading west toward the Blue Ridge Mountains.
The final communication with the plane was at 11:49, when the pilot contacted the Aviation Administration Aviation Administration (FAA) Station at Woodgen Roanoke Airport to request a weather report and said he intended to land there. At this point the plane has flown past the Martinsville destination and is in the west and below the peak of the Blue Ridge Mountains. The latest weather report released by Roanaoke is "measured 1,000 ft of ceilings, 2,500 foot overcast, 3 miles visibility in light rain and fog, with disguised mountain ridges." The pilot did not show him in any trouble or report the current position of the aircraft.
At 12:08 the plane impacted to the west side of Mount Brushy at an altitude of 2,700 feet while flying with a "high-speed attitude" at a 100-degree canopy to the Roanoke VANAC navigation beacon. The collision to the heavily forested slopes and post-collision destruction of the plane, and the six people in it received fatal wounds.
Maps 1971 Colorado Aviation Aero Commander 680 crash
Aircraft
Listed as N601JJ, the plane was a six-six-six-six-foot six-foot sixteen-foot twin, the type certified on October 14, 1955, and produced in 1957 by Aero Commander. Serial number 680-491-161 is equipped with a supercharged GSO-480-B1A6 340cc engine, transforming the 3-bladed Hartzell propeller blades. The maximum takeoff weight is 7,000 pounds (3,200 kg) with a total fuel load of 225.5 US gal, providing a range of 1,480 miles at a cruising speed of 230 mph. Because of these features, the Super 680 is considered a complicated multiengine aircraft.
Crew and passengers
The single crew member is a 43-year-old Herman pilot, Butler, who holds a valid private pilot license with a single and multi-engine aircraft rating, but is not rated for flight under instrument flight rules (IFR). Butler has more than 8,000 hours of flying experience, but only 6 hours logged on the recently acquired Aero Commander. He is also secretary of Colorado Aviation Co., Inc.
Among the five passengers were Audie Murphy, the most decorated US veteran of World War II and director of parent company Colorado Aviation, Telestar Leisure Investments.
Aftermath
Friends waited in Martinsville, and when the plane failed to arrive, they were told that the flight had changed the destination to Roanoke. By late afternoon in Roanoke it became clear that the plane was missing and the search began. Civil Air Patrol in Danville, Virginia, began searching with help from units in Buckingham, Hillsville, Lynchburg, Martinsville, and Roanoke. Eastern Air Search and Rescue Center at Robins Air Force Base also launched 31 aircraft, to support the search. Due to the poor weather conditions and the absence of flight plans, the fall site is not located until 31 May. Colonel Hale and Major Slusser of the Virginia Wing of Civil Air Patrol discovered the crash site about 300 meters below the summit of Mount Brushy at 2:30 pm. Later that day the rescue workers made it to the area after climbing four miles from the steep terrain. Three passengers, including Murphy, were thrown from the wreckage and identified on site. The other three were found in the cabin of the plane and were badly burned.
Investigation
The accident was investigated by the National Transportation Safety Board and centered around the weather in times of accident and pilot capability. There was no evidence of pre-impact damage to the aircraft, and in their final report, issued on June 15, 1972, the NTSB determined the following possible official cause for the accident: "[T] he attempted to continue the visual battle in adverse weather conditions at too low altitudes to clear the mountainous areas.The council also found that the pilots are trying to continue the flight to weather conditions of instruments that are beyond their operational capabilities. "
Civil lawsuit
In December 1971, Audie Murphy's family (wife and two sons) hired attorney Herbert Hafif and filed a $ 10 million lawsuit at the Los Angeles District Court accusing negligence in the operation and maintenance of the aircraft. The 13 defendants include the Herman Butler pilot area, the Claude Crosby passenger plantations and Jack Littleton, Commander of Aero Inc., Colorado Aviation Co. Inc., and Telestar, Inc. In December 1975, the jury awarded the Murphy family $ 2.5 million in damages. paid for by aircraft owners, Colorado Aviation Inc. from Denver Colorado.
See also
- Music Day Left
- 1963 Camden PA-24 crashes
- Death of Stevie Ray Vaughan
- the helicopter crash of Bill Graham
References
External links
- Photo of crash site
- Flight Safety Network description
- History of Aero Commander
Source of the article : Wikipedia
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