Eva Murray Was Aboard Cessna 206 That Went Down In The Atlantic Ocean In 2011

In July 2011, Eva Murray was a passenger aboard a Penobscot Island Air Cessna 206 that went down in the Atlantic Ocean off the coast of Maine. She was the last of three passengers to get out of the sinking airplane and survive. She had been underwater so long that the pilot of the airplane had dove down to see if he could find find her.

All four aboard the airplane survived the ditching, but Murray, a writer, baker, and EMT from Matinicus Island, determined there was only one way for her to get over her nervousness about flying after the accident. At 51, she is close to earning her private pilot certificate, according to the Bangor Daily News.

Three years ago, Murray began her flight training with Sandy Reynolds of the Belfast, ME Maine Scenic Airways flight school. While she was described as not being the most natural pilot, she was determined to learn to control the airplane.

While Murray says she does not plan to use her airman privileges in a practical way, she is very much enjoying the flying. She took her first solo cross-country trip in June of 2015, and has accumulated about 105 hours, she said.

On the cross-country flight to Brunswick Naval Air Station on a CAVU day, she said the realized why people take up flying as a hobby. "This is why it’s a recreational activity, and not a thing you make yourself do.'" she told the paper.

(Cessna 206 pictured in file photo. Not accident airplane)

FMI: www.faa.gov/pilots/become