Accident Aerostar RX-8 N5294Q,
ASN logo
ASN Wikibase Occurrence # 199439
 
This information is added by users of ASN. Neither ASN nor the Flight Safety Foundation are responsible for the completeness or correctness of this information. If you feel this information is incomplete or incorrect, you can submit corrected information.

Date:Saturday 10 October 2015
Time:08:40
Type:Silhouette image of generic BALL model; specific model in this crash may look slightly different    
Aerostar RX-8
Owner/operator:Private
Registration: N5294Q
MSN: 3347
Year of manufacture:2001
Total airframe hrs:172 hours
Fatalities:Fatalities: 0 / Occupants: 3
Aircraft damage: None
Category:Accident
Location:Albuquerque, NM -   United States of America
Phase: Landing
Nature:Private
Departure airport:Albuquerque, NM
Destination airport:Albuquerque, NM
Investigating agency: NTSB
Confidence Rating: Accident investigation report completed and information captured
Narrative:
After 50 minutes of flight, the commercial pilot landed the balloon and waited for his ground handling crew to arrive. One passenger exited the basket and the pilot and second passenger remained in the basket. When the ground crew arrived, the second passenger and pilot were beginning to exit the basket when a gust of wind pushed the envelope and basket over to a 45° angle. The pilot asked the passenger to hold on and began pulling the envelope deflation line. After a few seconds, the wind shifted and rotated the basket. The pilot and passenger were tossed out of the basket onto the ground. The passenger fell, resulting in a fracture of her shoulder.

The nearest weather reporting facility, located about 15 nautical miles from the accident site, reported wind at 12 knots. The pilot reported that the wind was variable at 3 knots and gusting to 14 knots. The pilot's delay in pulling the vent line completely and deflating the balloon envelope likely made the balloon uncontrollable when the wind gusted. The pilot stated that he should have had the passenger sit down in the bottom of the basket and should have had the ground crew person release the line when the wind shifted.
Probable Cause: The pilot's delay in deflating the balloon envelope completely after landing, which resulted in a loss of control due to a wind gust.

Accident investigation:
cover
  
Investigating agency: NTSB
Report number: CEN16LA030
Status: Investigation completed
Duration:
Download report: Final report

Sources:

NTSB

Location

Revision history:

Date/timeContributorUpdates
06-Sep-2017 07:06 ASN Update Bot Added
11-Oct-2017 07:36 ASN Update Bot Updated [Narrative]

Corrections or additions? ... Edit this accident description

The Aviation Safety Network is an exclusive service provided by:
Quick Links:

CONNECT WITH US: FSF on social media FSF Facebook FSF Twitter FSF Youtube FSF LinkedIn FSF Instagram

©2024 Flight Safety Foundation

1920 Ballenger Av, 4th Fl.
Alexandria, Virginia 22314
www.FlightSafety.org