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SEA04FA009 · Beech A36

20 Oct 2003 · Seaside, OR, United States

Beech A36 · Accident: in flight collision with object while maneuvering

From Newport Municipal Airport (ONP) to Portland Troutdale Airport (TTD)

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Event

NTSB case
SEA04FA009
Event typeAccident: someone killed or seriously injured, or the aircraft substantially damaged (NTSB definition). Incident: an occurrence that affected or could have affected safety, short of that. Glossary
Accident
InvestigationHow far the investigation had got when the record was published: preliminary, ongoing, final or completed. Unknown where the source does not say. Glossary
Completed
API-reported fatalities
1 · all aircraft and ground
Ground fatalities
Unknown
OperationWhat kind of flying it was, grouped by the rules it flew under: airline (US Part 121), air taxi and commuter (Part 135), general aviation (Part 91 and similar), military or government. Glossary
General aviation
WeatherVisual meteorological conditions (VMC): good enough to fly by looking outside. Instrument conditions (IMC): cloud or low visibility, flying by instruments. Glossary
Visual Meteorological Cond

Beech A36

Aircraft type
Beechcraft 36
Category
Airplane
RegistrationThe aircraft's tail number, such as N12345 or G-ABCD. Registrations are reissued, so the same one years apart can be a different aircraft. Glossary
N136SB
Operator
Unknown
Onboard fatalities
Unknown
Route
From Newport Municipal Airport (ONP), Newport, ORTo Portland Troutdale Airport (TTD), Troutdale, OR
Aircraft age
Not recorded
Flight rulesThe regulations the flight operated under: in the US, Part 91 (general aviation), Part 121 (airlines), Part 135 (air taxi and commuter) and others; for flights abroad, the NTSB's coarser commercial or non-commercial code. Glossary
Part 91: General Aviation
Phase of flightThe stage of the flight when things started to go wrong: standing, taxi, takeoff, initial climb, en route, maneuvering, approach or landing. Glossary
Maneuvering
First occurrenceThe single coded event the NTSB judges best describes what happened (records from 2008 on). Older records name the first occurrence in the sequence instead. Glossary
In flight collision with object
Also codedOther events the NTSB coded in the sequence, such as a wire strike after a loss of power. Flight Findings uses them for its kinds of event. Glossary
Tree(s)
DamageDestroyed: beyond practical repair. Substantial: damage that affects the structure, performance or handling and normally needs major repair. Minor: less than that. Glossary
Destroyed

Cause areas

  • Pilot in command › Clearance, not maintained

Approximate · Coordinates from the NTSB case API, which marks them as estimated or does not say; no uncertainty radius is established.

NTSB narrative

Witnesses in the area of the airstrip and accident site reported observing the aircraft approaching the airstrip to the south in high wind, rain, and low visibility conditions. All reported hearing the engine as running at high rpm and smooth. The aircraft touched down near the south end of the airstrip then the engine was heard to power up. The aircraft lifted off and was seen initiating a left turn. During the turn to the north, the aircraft impacted trees and subsequently the terrain. Post accident inspection of the wreckage and engine did not find evidence of a mechanical failure or malfunction. The winds were reported from a weather reporting facility located nine miles north as 200 degrees at 24 knots, gusting to 34 knots. Visibility was two statute miles with rain and mist. The local Police Department which records the wind conditions in the area for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration recorded winds averaging 31 knots, with a recorded peak gust of 41 knots throughout the day. Witnesses in the area reported the ceiling varied from 500 to 700 feet and the visibility varied as low as 1/4 mile, with varying degrees of rain falling.

Probable cause

The pilot's failure to maintain clearance from objects while maneuvering. High winds, gusts and rain were factors.

Verbatim NTSB analysis and probable cause from the NTSB dataset

Sources

NTSB record SEA04FA009
Event ID
20031103X01855
Case number
SEA04FA009
Dataset
historical-pre2008
Source SHA-256
89e2df6d848e7ab3b42e7d7c7a03ff403303057a26ca04c95b3ea67201c3ce74
Source notes (4)
  • Unreviewed is an editorial label, not an investigation status. API-sourced is not report-checked or human-reviewed. Explicit event totals are used without summing aircraft injury tables; onboard allocation is withheld. Unknown values remain unknown. The operation category is mapped from the NTSB-reported FAR part and has not been reviewed.
  • Filled from the NTSB case API where the bulk record had no value: investigation status, coordinates. Values present in the bulk record are kept.
  • The date is the local date, which is the same as the UTC date the NTSB stores.
  • API snapshot SHA-256: c145f3b2211270c8b65be05ce44b883c4f02d2375e13cf236359138e6d779ed5; retrieved 2026-09-20T18:51:52.038Z.