# Accident 20161022022819A: Aerostar International Inc RX 8, Mount Ulla, NC, October 22, 2016

- Type: FAA accident report (Accident/Incident Data System), as reported
- Date: October 22, 2016, 12:40 local time
- Place: Mount Ulla, NC
- Damage: Minor damage
- Phase of flight: Landing: Touchdown
- Operating rules: General operating rules (Part 91)
- Location: 35.6928° N, 80.7106° W: From the FAA
- Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=35.6928&lon=-80.7106&mi=10
- Aircraft: N9015Y, a cancelled registration (https://openairdocs.org/deregistered/N9015Y-2022-08-11) (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: AEROSTAR INTERNATIONAL INC RX 8
- Reported engine: NONE NONE
- People aboard: 5
- Fatal injuries: 0
- Other injuries: 1
- Pilot certificates: Commercial pilot
- Pilot flight hours: 614 total
- NTSB investigation: [NTSB ERA17LA029](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/ERA17LA029) (OpenAirDocs)
- FAA source: FAA Aviation Safety Information Portal (https://asip.faa.gov/)
- Page: https://openairdocs.org/incident/20161022022819A

## Narrative

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

ON OCTOBER 22, 2016, ABOUT 1240 EASTERN STANDARD TIME, N9015Y, AN RX8-3293 AEROSTAR INTERNATIONAL INC BALLOON LANDED IN A FIELD ENDING A SIGHTSEEING FLIGHT. DURING THE LANDING THE BALLOON BOUNCED AND THEN MADE A FULL LANDING WHERE THE BASKET TIPPED ON ITS SIDE AND WAS DRUG ACROSS THE GROUND UNTIL IT CAME TO A STOP. WHEN THE BASKET TIPPED OVER THE PASSENGERS WERE PUSHED TO ONE SIDE OF THE BASKET AND THE PASSENGER ON THE BOTTOM AGAINST THE BASKET SUSTAINED A FRACTURED WRIST AND A FRACTURE TO HER #6 VERTEBRAE. THE OTHER PASSENGERS HAD LANDED ON TOP OF HER.

THIS FLIGHT WAS ASSOCIATED WITH THE CAROLINA BALLOON FEST.

## The NTSB's investigation of this event (1)

From the NTSB's public API. Aircraft are matched to registry aircraft by N-number and event date, checked against the reported serial number, make and model; the registry's history has gaps, so older matches can be wrong. Compare the reported make and model.

- [NTSB ERA17LA029](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/ERA17LA029), Oct 22, 2016: Aerostar International RX8 (N9015Y), Mount Ulla, NC, minor damage. Probable cause: The passenger's failure to follow the pilot's instructions for properly securing herself during landing, which resulted in her serious injury when the balloon landed hard and the basket was dragged.

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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