# Accident 20191214021439A: Head Balloons Inc AX8-88B, Las Cruces, NM, December 14, 2019

- Type: FAA accident report (Accident/Incident Data System), as reported
- Date: December 14, 2019, 08:53 local time
- Place: Las Cruces, NM
- Damage: Minor damage
- Phase of flight: Landing: Approach
- Operating rules: General operating rules (Part 91)
- Location: 32.3169° N, 106.7747° W: From the FAA
- Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=32.3169&lon=-106.7747&mi=10
- Aircraft: N2224H, registered now (https://openairdocs.org/aircraft/N2224H) (OpenAirDocs)
- Registry model: Head Balloons AX8-88B (registry code 4280202, https://openairdocs.org/model/head-balloons-ax8-88b) (OpenAirDocs)
- Registry engine: NONE (registry code 00000, https://openairdocs.org/engine/none) (OpenAirDocs)
- Reported make and model: HEAD BALLOONS INC AX8-88B
- Reported engine: NONE NONE
- People aboard: 3
- Fatal injuries: 0
- Other injuries: 1
- Pilot certificates: Private pilot
- Pilot flight hours: 300 total, 285 in this make and model, 5 in the last 90 days
- NTSB investigation: [NTSB WPR20CA050](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/WPR20CA050) (OpenAirDocs)
- FAA source: FAA Aviation Safety Information Portal (https://asip.faa.gov/)
- Page: https://openairdocs.org/incident/20191214021439A

## Narrative

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

ON DECEMBER 14, 2019, AT 0853 MST, A HEAD BALLOONS, INC. AX8-88B LIGHTER-THAN-AIR BALLOON (N2224H) WITH AIRBORNE BURNER, REGISTERED TO ^PRIVACY DATA OMITTED^, EXPERIENCED AN IN-FLIGHT COLLISION WITH HIGH VOLTAGE POWER LINES WHILE ATTEMPTING TO LAND WITHIN THE CITY LIMITS OF LAS CRUCES, NM. VISUAL METEOROLOGICAL CONDITIONS PREVAILED AT THE TIME, AND A VFR FLIGHT PLAN WAS NOT FILED. THE AIRCRAFT SUSTAINED MINOR DAMAGE, AND THE CERTIFICATED PILOT EXPERIENCED MINOR ELECTRICAL BURNS TO TWO FINGERS (INDEX AND MIDDLE) OF HIS LEFT HAND. THE TWO PASSENGERS WERE NOT INJURED. THE FLIGHT ORIGINATED AT THE VALLEY VIEW CITY PARK IN LAS CRUCES, NM ON DECEMBER 14, 2019, AT 0815 MST.

## 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 WPR20CA050](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/WPR20CA050), Dec 14, 2019: Head AX8 88B (N2224H), Las Cruces, NM, substantial damage. Probable cause: A burner flameout, which resulted in the pilot's inability to arrest the balloon’s descent and its subsequent impact with power lines as he was trying to relight the burner.

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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