NTSB SEA91LA206 — 1991-08-11 · BELGRADE, Montana, United States

Current FAA registration · N18307

Make / Model: BEECH V35B
Year of manufacture: 1977 · 14 years old at event
Engine: CONT MOTOR IO 520 SERIES (285 hp)
Seats / Engines: 6 seats · 1 engine
Last airworthiness date: 19770607
ADS-B equipped: Yes — Mode-S A14E49

Source: FAA Aircraft Registry (releasable master file).

Aircraft involved

N18307 Beech V35B None

Probable cause & findings

THE PILOT'S FAILURE TO MAINTAIN A POSITIVE RATE OF CLIMB DURING THE TAKEOFF. FACTORS CONTRIBUTING TO THE ACCIDENT WERE THE OPEN CABIN WINDOW AND THE PILOT'S DIVERTING HIS ATTENTION.

Factual narrative

IMMEDIATELY FOLLOWING GEAR RETRACTION ON TAKEOFF THE RIGHT CENTER CABIN WINDOW OPENED. THE PILOT'S ATTENTION WAS DIVERTED BY THE AMBIENT NOISE AND ITS EFFECT ON HIS DAUGHTER WHO WAS SEATED ADJACENT TO THE WINDOW. THE PILOT THEN TURNED HIS ATTENTION TO SECURING THE WINDOW AND DURING THIS EVENT FAILED TO MAINTAIN A POSITIVE CLIMB RATE. THE AIRCRAFT THEN SETTLED BACK TO THE RUNWAY. Source: NTSB Aviation Accident Database (Pre-2008 Archive) Retrieved: 2026-02-12

Verbatim from NTSB's published report. Source file NTSB_1991_SEA91LA206.txt. Findings + structured fields enriched from FAA avall.mdb. Full investigation docket on data.ntsb.gov ↗.

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