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Atlas / NTSB / CEN21LA132

NTSB CAROL · Event

Event CEN21LA132

2021-02-17 Lubbock, Texas, United States None 1 aircraft Status: Completed

Registry · N312MB

FAA Aircraft Registry record.

Make / Model

BEECH B100

Year of manufacture

1981 · 40 years old at event

Engine

GARRETT TPE331-6 (750 hp)

Seats / Engines

11 seats · 2 engines

Last airworthiness date

19950818

ADS-B equipped

Yes — Mode-S A34F54

Registrant of record

N312MB LLC

Source: FAA Aircraft Registry (releasable master file).

Aircraft involved

Probable cause & findings

The failure of the right-side window inner pane for reasons that could not be determined based on available evidence.

Factual narrative

On February 17, 2021, about 2130 central standard time, a Beech B100 airplane, N312MB, was substantially damaged when it was involved in an accident near Lubbock, Texas. The pilot and passenger were not injured. The airplane was operated as a Title 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91 business flight.   The pilot reported that about an hour after departure, while the airplane was in cruise flight, he heard a “cracking noise” and noticed that the right windshield had cracked. The windshield remained in place and pressurization was not lost. The pilot notified the air traffic controller that he had a cracked windshield. The flight then descended and diverted to a nearby airport, where it was discovered that the right-side windshield displayed cracks in the inner pane, which is considered substantial damage in a pressurized airplane. The pilot reported that the windshield had accumulated 3,152.3 flight hours and 2,235 cycles. The window manufacturer reported the windshield was manufactured in 1998 and that it had met its expected life cycle. The windshield was disposed of before further testing could be performed to determine the failure mode.  About an hour after departure, while the airplane was in cruise flight, the pilot and passenger heard a “cracking noise” and noticed that the right windshield had cracked. The windshield remained in place and pressurization was not lost. The pilot notified the air traffic controller that he had a cracked windshield and diverted to a nearby airport. The airplane landed uneventfully and examination revealed substantial cracking damage to the right-side windshield inner pane. The windshield was disposed of before further testing could be performed to determine the failure mode. Source: NTSB Aviation Accident Database Retrieved: 2026-02-12

NTSB Findings

Hierarchical cause / factor breakdown from the FAA bulk avdata database. Each finding tagged C (Cause) or F (Factor).

  • Aircraft-Aircraft structures-Windows-windshield system-Flight compartment windows-Failure

Verbatim from NTSB's published report. Source file NTSB_2021_CEN21LA132.txt. Findings + structured fields enriched from FAA avall.mdb. Full investigation docket on data.ntsb.gov ↗.