# Incident 20231007016429I: Head Balloons AX8-105, Rio Rancho, NM, October 7, 2023

- Type: FAA incident report (Accident/Incident Data System), as reported
- Date: October 7, 2023, 09:59 local time
- Place: Rio Rancho, NM
- Damage: Minor damage
- Phase of flight: Landing: Touchdown
- Operating rules: General operating rules (Part 91)
- Location: 35.2334° N, 106.6645° W: Placed by OpenAirDocs: center of Rio Rancho, NM, within about 6 miles (OpenAirDocs)
- Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=35.2334&lon=-106.6645&mi=10
- Aircraft: N5004R, registered now (https://openairdocs.org/aircraft/N5004R) (OpenAirDocs)
- Registry model: Head Balloons AX8-105 (registry code 4280300, https://openairdocs.org/model/head-balloons-ax8-105) (OpenAirDocs)
- Registry engine: NONE (registry code 00000, https://openairdocs.org/engine/none) (OpenAirDocs)
- Reported make and model: HEAD BALLOONS AX8-105
- Reported engine: NONE NONE
- People aboard: 3
- Fatal injuries: 0
- Other injuries: 0
- Pilot certificates: Commercial pilot
- Pilot flight hours: 200 total
- FAA source: FAA Aviation Safety Information Portal (https://asip.faa.gov/)
- Page: https://openairdocs.org/incident/20231007016429I

## Narrative

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

ON OCTOBER 07, 2023, AT 0959 MST, HEAD BALLOON AX8-105, LANDED IN GUSTY WINDS AND THE ENVELOPE DRAPED OVER A BARBED WIRE FENCE IN RIO RANCHO, NM, WHILE PARTICIPATING IN AN AIR SHOW. VISUAL METEOROLOGICAL CONDITIONS PREVAILED AT THE TIME, AND A VFR FLIGHT PLAN WAS NOT FILED. THE AIRCRAFT SUSTAINED MINOR DAMAGE AND THE CERTIFICATED COMMERCIAL PILOT AND TWO PASSENGERS WERE NOT INJURED. THE FLIGHT ORIGINATED AT BALLOON FIESTA FIELD IN ALBUQUERQUE, NM, ON OCTOBER 07, 2023. THE INVESTIGATION DETERMINED A GUST OF WIND CAUSED THE ENVELOPE TO DRAPE OVER THE FENCE. THERE WAS NO INDICATION OF PILOT ERROR OR MECHANICAL ISSUES.

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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