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.

[2] 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.

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).

[3] 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.

[3] Among the five passengers was Audie Murphy, the most decorated U.S. veteran of World War II and a director of Colorado Aviation's parent company, Telestar Leisure Investments.

Colonel Hale and Major Slusser of the Virginia Wing of the Civil Air Patrol discovered the site about 300 ft below the summit of Brush Mountain at 2:30 in the afternoon.

No evidence was found of any preimpact malfunction of the aircraft, and in its final report, issued on June 15, 1972, the NTSB determined this official probable cause for the accident: "[T]he pilot's attempt to continue visual flight into adverse weather conditions [was] at an altitude too low to clear the mountainous terrain.

"[2] In December 1971, Murphy's widow and two sons hired attorney Herbert Hafif and filed a $10 million lawsuit in Los Angeles District Court alleging negligence in the operation and maintenance of the aircraft.