# Incident 20031007026379I: Arostr RX8, Albuquerque, NM, October 7, 2003

- Type: FAA incident report (Accident/Incident Data System), as reported
- Date: October 7, 2003, 09:20 local time
- Place: Albuquerque, NM
- Damage: Minor damage
- Phase of flight: Level Off Touchdown
- Operating rules: General operating rules (Part 91)
- Location: 35.0845° N, 106.6511° W: Placed by OpenAirDocs: center of Albuquerque, NM, within about 8 miles (OpenAirDocs)
- Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=35.0845&lon=-106.6511&mi=10
- Aircraft: N9126B, registered now (https://openairdocs.org/aircraft/N9126B) (OpenAirDocs)
- Registry model: Aerostar International RX 8 (registry code 7487008, https://openairdocs.org/model/aerostar-international-rx-8) (OpenAirDocs)
- Registry engine: NONE (registry code 00000, https://openairdocs.org/engine/none) (OpenAirDocs)
- Reported make and model: AROSTR RX8
- People aboard: 2
- Fatal injuries: 0
- Pilot flight hours: 169 total, 96 in this make and model, 8 in the last 90 days
- FAA source: FAA Aviation Safety Information Portal (https://asip.faa.gov/)
- Page: https://openairdocs.org/incident/20031007026379I

## Narrative

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

(-23) ON OCTOBER 7, 2003, AT APPROXIMATELY 0920 MST AN AEROSTAR RX-8, N9126B, COLLIDED WITH TREES WHILE LANDING 1/2 EAST OF ZIA PUEBLO, NM. THE PRIVATE PILOT AND ONE PASSENGER WERE NOT INJURED AND THE GODOA WAS DAMAGED. THE AIRCRAFT WAS BEING OPERATED AS PART OF THE ALBUQUERQUE INTERNATIONAL BALLOON FIESTA BY THE ROAD RUNNER BALLOON CLUB UNDER 14 CFR PART 91 WHEN THE INCIDENT OCCURRED. THE FLIGHT ORIGINATED FROM THE ALBUQUERQUE INTERNATIONAL BALLOON FIESTA FIELD AT APPROXIMATELY 0800 MST. VISUAL METEOROLOGICAL CONDITIONS PREVAILED AT THE TIME WITH CLEAR SKIES AND WIND GUSTS OF 12-14 M.P.H. AT THE TIME OF THE INCIDENT. UPON LANDING, THE PILOT WAS AVOIDING POWER LINES IN THE AREA, AND SCRAPED THE GONDOLA OF THE AIRCRAFT THROUGH THE TOP OF A JUNIPER TREE. DAMAGE TO THE GONDOLA INCLUDED 10 BROKEN VERTICAL WICKER PIECES AND ONE WOODEN "BROOMSTICK" UPRIGHT. DAMAGE TO THE HORIZONTAL WEAVE WAS APPROXIMATELY 32 INCHES HIGH BY 25 INCHES WIDE. HIDDEN DAMAGE INSPECTION REVEALED NO FURTHER DAMAGE TO THE GONDOLA OR ENVELOPE.

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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