# Incident 19980418012789I: Thundr AX890, Suffolk, VA, April 18, 1998

- Type: FAA incident report (Accident/Incident Data System), as reported
- Date: April 18, 1998, 18:15 local time
- Place: Suffolk, VA
- Damage: Minor damage
- Phase of flight: Level Off Touchdown
- Operating rules: General operating rules (Part 91)
- Location: 36.7282° N, 76.5836° W: Placed by OpenAirDocs: center of Suffolk, VA, within about 11 miles (OpenAirDocs)
- Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=36.7282&lon=-76.5836&mi=10
- Aircraft: N124TC, a cancelled registration (https://openairdocs.org/deregistered/N124TC-2018-12-31) (OpenAirDocs)
- Registry model: Thunder & Colt Airborne Amer AX8-90 S 2 (registry code 2301214, https://openairdocs.org/model/thunder-colt-airborne-amer-ax8-90-s-2) (OpenAirDocs)
- Registry engine: NONE (registry code 00000, https://openairdocs.org/engine/none) (OpenAirDocs)
- Reported make and model: THUNDR AX890
- People aboard: 1
- Fatal injuries: 0
- FAA source: FAA Aviation Safety Information Portal (https://asip.faa.gov/)
- Page: https://openairdocs.org/incident/19980418012789I

## Narrative

As the FAA filed it, in capitals; the FAA replaces private details with ^PRIVACY DATA OMITTED^.

NARRATIVE: UPON TRYING TO LAND THE BALLOON IN A STEP DOWN TYPE LANDING, THE WIND WAS IRREGULAR, THE PILOT MADE A DECISION TO DROP RATHER THAN BURN TO GO UP. THE PILOT STATED THAT THERE MAY HAVE BEEN WIND SHEAR. THE BALLOON BASKET LANDED WITH THE PILOT ATTEMPTING TO DEFLATE THE BALLOON. IT WENT INTO THE POWER LINE CAUSING THE LINE TO BREAK, BURNING SIX PANELS IN THE LOWER PART OF THE BALLOON. NO OTHER DAMAGE WITH NO ONE INJURED.

From the FAA Accident/Incident Data System. Reports are matched to registry aircraft 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. For accidents, the NTSB's own investigation is the fuller record.

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