Died in a helicopter crash while on a business trip.
No, he died in an Aero Commander, at the time considered a very nice light twin nd certainly one more than capable for the weather that day.
I flew over the exact same area at almost the same time he crashed and it was a really nice day for an instrument pilot.
Light rain, mostly between layers. No thunderstorms, no rough weather at all.
I flew the route fron Greensboro, NC on the way to Wilkes Barre, Pa.
The problem was the jerk who owned the fixed base operation at which the Aero Commander was based, sent the plane out on a trip half way across the US piloted by a non instrument pilot.
You very very rarely can fly that far and not encounter weather.
I just looked it up to refresh my memory, as it has been a long long time, and note that he asked for weather information from ROA flight service and they told him that it was 1,000 and 3, VFR minimums.
Well the guy that gave him that info should be hanged. The area north of the Roanoke airport is a rugged as anything east of the Rockies. There is no way in the world you can traverse that route with only a 1,000 fit ceiling and 3 miles visability.
I flew the trip both ways that day and enjoyed every minute of it. I always liked to fly instruments and that was the perfect day for it.
So he was killed by a fool.
Really sad.
On 28 May 1971, Murphy was killed when the private plane in which he was a passenger crashed into Brush Mountain, near Catawba, Virginia, 20 miles west of Roanoke in conditions of rain, clouds, fog and zero visibility. The pilot and four other passengers were also killed. The aircraft was a twin-engine Aero Commander 680 flown by a pilot who had a private-pilot license and a reported 8,000 hours of flying time, but who held no instrument rating. The aircraft was recovered on 31 May.
I actually hiked up Brush Mountain to view the site of the crash in 2004. Saw the memorial marker and the many things left in honor of this great hero.
I think it was a light twin. I want to say a Cessna 340...without checking.
Almost ... it was an Aero-Commander.