Beech E18S accident near Billings, Montana, August 16, 1985
On August 16, 1985 at about 5:20 am local time, a Beech E18S, registered N44N, was substantially damaged in an accident near Billings, Montana. It was a flight of an unrecorded kind under charter and air-taxi rules (Part 135). 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 16, 1985 · about 5:20 am local time
- Place
- Billings, Montana · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 1 person was on board or involved.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Beech E18S · all E18Ss on the register
- Registration
- N44N · no longer on the register · serial BA109
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Flight of an unrecorded kind · charter and air-taxi rules (Part 135)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
THE PLT STATED THAT HE ENCOUNTERED A 'WIND DRAFT' AND THE ACFT WAS STRUCK BY LIGHTNING. THE RT ENG MOUNT FAILED AND THE RT ENG WAS DEFLECTED DOWNWARD. PLT WAS UNABLE TO MAINTAIN ALT AND EXECUTED A FORCED LANDING IN AN OPEN FIELD. POST CRASH EXAM OF THE WELDED CLUSTER ENG MOUNT REVEALED EVIDENCE OF AN OVERLOAD TYPE FAILURE.
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
- Ratings: multi-engine land; single-engine land; instructor: airplane multi-engine; instructor: airplane single-engine; instrument: airplane
- Flight time: 18,525 hours in all; 8,352 in this make and model; 216 in the last 90 days; 18,300 as pilot in command
- Medical certificate: Class 2 (valid medical--w/ waivers/lim.)
- Seat: left
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 12,624 hours
- Last inspection: annual inspection, July 15, 1985; 46 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 9,300 lb
- Seats: 2
- Landing gear: retractable
- Engine: P&W R-985-AN14B (piston); 0 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: HLN Helena MT at 4:30 am
- Destination: BIL Billings MT
- Flight plan: IFR
- Runway 0
Weather at the time
- Light: night, dark
- Wind: from 330° at 30 knots, gusting 40
- Visibility: 10 statute miles
- Sky: not recorded at 5,000 ft
- Temperature: 50°F (10°C), dew point 52°F (11°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.