# Accident 20200119003669A: Thunder Balloons Ltd AX9-140 SII, Homestead, FL, January 19, 2020

- Type: FAA accident report (Accident/Incident Data System), as reported
- Date: January 19, 2020, 07:45 local time
- Place: Homestead, FL
- Damage: No damage
- Phase of flight: Descent
- Operating rules: General operating rules (Part 91)
- Location: 25.5417° N, 80.5358° W: From the FAA
- Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=25.5417&lon=-80.5358&mi=10
- Aircraft: N970TC (not matched to a registry record)
- Reported make and model: THUNDER BALLOONS LTD AX9-140 SII
- Reported engine: AMA/EXPR UNKNOWN ENG
- People aboard: 9
- Fatal injuries: 0
- Other injuries: 8
- Pilot certificates: Commercial pilot
- Pilot flight hours: 157 total, 157 in this make and model, 11 in the last 90 days
- NTSB investigation: [NTSB ERA20LA094](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/ERA20LA094) (OpenAirDocs)
- FAA source: FAA Aviation Safety Information Portal (https://asip.faa.gov/)
- Page: https://openairdocs.org/incident/20200119003669A

## Narrative

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

PART 91 OPERATOR, OPERATING A BALLOON, AX9-14(S.2) N970TC WITH 1 PILOT AND 8 PASSENGERS ONBOARD HIT NUMEROUS TREES AND CRASHED INTO ELECTRICAL POWER LINES. THERE WAS NO GROUND INJURIES OR DAMAGES, TWO PASSENGERS WITH SERIOUS BURN INJURIES TRANSPORTED TO HOSPITAL AND REMAINING PASSENGER WITH MINOR INJURIES.

## 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 ERA20LA094](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/ERA20LA094), Jan 19, 2020: Airborne America AX9-140 (N970TC), Homestead, FL, minor damage. Probable cause: The pilot's decision to operate the balloon at low altitude near obstructions, structures, and powerlines, which resulted in the balloon contacting powerlines. Contributing to the accident was the…

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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