19960705016379I

Incident · Minor damage

FAA incident report · Balwks FIREFLY7 · Gunnison, CO · July 5, 1996

Date: July 5, 1996 · 07:30 local
Place: Gunnison, CO
Phase of flight: Level Off Touchdown
Operating rules: General operating rules (Part 91)
Damage: Minor damage
Aircraft: N4043N
Reported as: Balwks FIREFLY7
People aboard: 2
Fatal injuries: 0
Pilot’s flight hours: 786 total6 in this make and model8 in the last 90 days

From the FAA’s Accident/Incident Data System (AIDS), through its Aviation Safety Information Portal, as reported. The NTSB investigates accidents separately, and its record of an accident is the fuller one. The aircraft is matched to the registry by N-number and event date, checked against the reported make and model; the registry’s history has gaps, so older matches can be wrong. Compare the reported make and model.

What happened

The FAA’s narrative, in sentence case. The FAA writes it in capitals and removes private details.

Narrative: prepared pax for landing (high wind). Balloon touched down on downwind side of hill, dragged for 200 yards, 2 (two) passengers came out of gondola, just before balloon stopped, pax received minor injuries. Three other balloons were also caught in this storm surge and two of those were accidents due to serious injuries and substantial damage to balloon. No further action planned.

As the FAA filed it

NARRATIVE: PREPARED PAX FOR LANDING (HIGH WIND). BALLOON TOUCHED DOWN ON DOWNWIND SIDE OF HILL, DRAGGED FOR 200 YARDS, 2 (TWO) PASSENGERS CAME OUT OF GONDOLA, JUST BEFORE BALLOON STOPPED, PAX RECEIVED MINOR INJURIES. THREE OTHER BALLOONS WERE ALSO CAUGHT IN THIS STORM SURGE AND TWO OF THOSE WERE ACCIDENTS DUE TO SERIOUS INJURIES AND SUBSTANTIAL DAMAGE TO BALLOON. NO FURTHER ACTION PLANNED.