In 1973, he moved on to other ventures, including a distributorship for Beech Aircraft.
According to Beech Aircraft, 1978 was the peak production year for commercial aircraft makers.
Perhaps the best known Beech aircraft, the single-engine Bonanza has been manufactured in various models since 1947.
Their initial fleet were Fokker F27 and Beech 1900 aircraft.
In 1969, it changed its name to Air Midwest and ordered Beech 99 aircraft to keep up with its expansion.
When introduced in 1967, it was the fastest Beech aircraft, rivaling even the early King Airs sold at the time.
Mr. Hedrick began work at Beech Aircraft in 1940.
Executives at Beech Aircraft, for example, noted that in four years during the 1980's, their company was sued 203 times for accidents involving its aircraft.
Under her leadership, Beech Aircraft became a leading manufacturer of private airplanes for general aviation, including propeller, turbo-prop and jet planes.
Murphy rented a Beech aircraft, equipped it for long distance flight and landed on March 12 in Amityville.