murdock

Considered the best chopper pilot of the Vietnam War, Murdock is officially declared insane (possibly caused by post-traumatic stress disorder) when the other three are imprisoned for robbing the Bank of Hanoi. Although he was alleged to be the A-Team's pilot during the robbery, he is instead committed to a psychiatric hospital. It is never made clear if Murdock truly is insane or only exceptionally good at pretending he is (or a combination of the two). He is stated as having paranoid anxiety, delusions, and intermittent memory loss. Due to his nature, many of the details of Murdock's life are unknown, or possibly embellished. According to Amy in the pilot episode, Murdock's mother died when he was five (although they "still keep in touch"). If he is to be believed, he was raised (or at least influenced) by his grandmother (who is supposedly named "H. Emma Murdock") and his grandfather. In one episode in the third season, B.A. says that Murdock went insane after his plane crashed. The exact state of his insanity is never made clear, though he occasionally implies that it is his ticket to his "room and board". Despite his purported mental status, Murdock is a thoroughly competent member of the team when needed to be. Indeed, because he is not actually wanted by the military, Murdock is often the only team member to evade capture by a given episode's antagonists (or the military police), and he has single-handedly rescued the other team members several times. On the other hand, his visibility and location as a mental patient make Murdock an easy target.

Murdock is almost always seen in a baseball cap, a customized A-2 leather flight jacket with a picture of a tiger and the words "Da Nang 1970" on the back, a pair of khaki pants, and a pair of black Converse sneakers. He also often wears a t-shirt with a comical caption or a picture of cartoon characters. Murdock is tall, slim with brown hair and brown eyes.

Murdock has extensive knowledge of various subjects and keeps up on current events, showing a genius-level aptitude. He speaks several languages including Spanish, German, Vietnamese, Japanese, Russian (not too well though) and Mandarin Chinese. Although Murdock was a helicopter pilot in Vietnam, he is capable of flying any type of aircraft, including passenger planes, fighter jets, and even autogyros.