# Incident 20040911024629I: Ultmag S90, Albuquerque, NM, September 11, 2004

- Type: FAA incident report (Accident/Incident Data System), as reported
- Date: September 11, 2004, 08:15 local time
- Place: Albuquerque, NM
- Phase of flight: Final Approach
- 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: N90UM, registered now (https://openairdocs.org/aircraft/N90UM) (OpenAirDocs)
- Registry model: Ultramagic S-90 (registry code 9130011, https://openairdocs.org/model/ultramagic-s-90) (OpenAirDocs)
- Registry engine: NONE (registry code 00000, https://openairdocs.org/engine/none) (OpenAirDocs)
- Reported make and model: ULTMAG S90
- People aboard: 3
- Fatal injuries: 0
- Pilot flight hours: 400 total, 11 in this make and model, 11 in the last 90 days
- FAA source: FAA Aviation Safety Information Portal (https://asip.faa.gov/)
- Page: https://openairdocs.org/incident/20040911024629I

## Narrative

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

(-23) ON 09/11/04, APPROXIMATELY 0845 MOUNTAIN DAYLIGHT TIME, AN ULTRA MAGIC S-90 (N90UM), HOT AIR BALLOON REGISTERED TO AND OPERATED BY MR. PAUL J. ENGLISH, ^PRIVACY DATA OMITTED^ CONTACTED POWER LINES DURING A LANDING APPROACH IN THE NORTH VALLEY OF ALBUQUERQUE, NM. THE PILOT-IN-COMMAND HOLDS A PRIVATE PILOT CERTIFICATE WITH A LIGHTER-THAN-AIR, BALLOON RATING. NEITHER THE PILOT, NOR HIS TWO PASSENGERS WERE INJURED. VISUAL METEOOROLOGICAL CONDITIONS PREVAILED, AND NO FLIGHT PLAN WAS FILED FOR THE FLIGHT WHICH DEPARTED BALLOON FIESTA PARK, ALBUQUERQUE, NM, UNDER 14 CFR PART 91. DURING A TELEPHONE INTERVIEW, THE PILOT STATED HE HAD SELECTED AN OPEN AREA NEAR 2ND STREET AND LOST RANCHITOS AS HIS LANDING SITE, AND WAS MANEUVERING TOWARD THE AREA. HE AND HIS PASSENGERS SCANNED THE AREA FOR OBSTRUCTIONS AND NOTICED A TWO-WIRE ELECTRICAL SERVICE LINE THAT APPEARED RAN ALONG THE DOWNWIND SIDE OF HIS LANDING AREA. AS THE BALLOON DESCENDED HE NOTICED A SECOND SET OF WIRES, ON THE UPWIND SIDE OF THE AREA, WHICH HAD BEEN MASKED BY THE DARK COLORED GROUND AND TREES. THE BALLOON GONDOLA CONTACTED THE WIRES AND PULLED THE TOP WIRE LOOSE FROM THE INSULATORS AND TRANSFORMER ON THEADJACENT POLES. THE PILOT INITIATED A CLIMB AND FLEW ONTO A SUITABLE LANDING SITE.

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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