Downer Aircraft Industries REP. SEABEE RC-3 accident near Haugan, Montana, August 13, 1985
On August 13, 1985 at about 2:45 pm local time, a Downer Aircraft Industries REP. SEABEE RC-3, registered N6305K, was substantially damaged in an accident near Haugan, Montana. It was a ferry flight under general aviation rules (Part 91). No one was hurt; 1 person was on board or involved. The weather was visual conditions (good weather).
The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
The NTSB has not yet published a probable cause for this accident. Investigations usually take one to two years; this page updates when the final report is released.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- August 13, 1985 · about 2:45 pm local time
- Place
- Haugan, Montana · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 1 person was on board or involved.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Downer Aircraft Industries REP. SEABEE RC-3 REP. SEABE
- Registration
- N6305K · no longer on the register · serial 524
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Ferry flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
THE PLT HAD RECONDITIONED N6305K AND WAS FLYING THE ACFT TO HIS HOME IN TEXAS. HE CONTINUED TO STATE THAT WHILE CLIMBING THROUGH 6500 FT, HE HEARD AN UNUSUAL NOISE FOLLOWED BY A SUBSTANTIAL LOSS IN PWR. THE PLT EXECUTED AN EMERGENCY LANDING ON A FOREST SERVICE ROAD. EXAM OF THE ENG AFTER THE ACCIDENT REVEALED THAT THE NO. 3 PISTON HAD FAILED.
The complete narrative as the NTSB published it. The NTSB's docket holds the report as a PDF and any photographs, statements and other documents from the investigation.
The factual record from the NTSB's investigation tables, in plain English
Pilot
- Certificate: airline transport pilot, flight instructor, commercial pilot
- Ratings: multi-engine land; multi-engine sea; single-engine land; single-engine sea; instrument: airplane; rotorcraft: glider
- Flight time: 6,000 hours in all; 10 in this make and model; 30 in the last 90 days; 5,800 as pilot in command
- Medical certificate: Class 1 (valid medical--no waivers/lim.)
- Seat: left
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 350 hours
- Last inspection: inspection type not recorded
- Maximum gross weight: 2,980 lb
- Seats: 4
- Landing gear: retractable
- Engine: Franklin 6A8-215-B8F (piston); 0 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: COE Coeur D'Alene ID at 1:00 pm
- Destination: MSO Missoula MT
- Flight plan: none
- Runway 0
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Visibility: 50 statute miles
- Sky: clear
- Temperature: 70°F (21°C), dew point 0°F (-18°C)
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crew | 1 |
Documents from the investigation the NTSB's docket: the evidence folder behind the report
The docket, the folder of records gathered during an investigation (maintenance records, photographs, witness statements, examinations), has not been read from the NTSB for this case yet; the list appears here once it has. Open the docket at the NTSB.
Everything on this page comes from the NTSB's public records. The narrative, probable cause and findings are the NTSB's own words; the coded tables behind the report are written out in plain English, with pilots' ages, home towns and medical details left out. The documents and photographs are the NTSB's docket, shown as the NTSB released them. This site's own text never names anyone involved. A preliminary report can change; the final report usually follows one to two years later, and the page is refreshed when it does.