# NTSB investigations: Balloon Works FIREFLY 7: Hard landing NTSB aviation accident and incident investigations since 1962: the probable cause, findings, aircraft, crew, weather and docket of each, linked to the FAA registry and the FAA’s own reports. ## Latest cases - [NTSB DEN99LA006](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/DEN99LA006.md): Balloon Works FIREFLY-7 · Alberquerque, NM · Accident · Serious injuries · Limited investigation · Final report · Oct 8, 1998 · N36609 · No damage > The passenger's failure to follow procedures/directives for a hard landing. A factor was the congested/confined landing area with power lines on both ends. - [NTSB FTW95LA280](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/FTW95LA280.md): Balloon Works Firefly 7 · Littleton, CO · Accident · Serious injuries · Limited investigation · Final report · Jul 8, 1995 · N2232H · No damage > The failure of the pilot to maintain control of the Balloon during landing. - [NTSB NYC95LA026](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/NYC95LA026.md): Balloon Works Firefly 7 · Nashua, NH · Accident · Serious injuries · Limited investigation · Final report · Oct 29, 1994 · N4070S · No damage > The pilot's improper touchdown which resulted in a rollover. - [NTSB CHI91LA292](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/CHI91LA292.md): Balloon Works Firefly X-7 · Altoona, IA · Accident · Serious injuries · Limited investigation · Final report · Sep 7, 1991 · N4055T · No damage > Weather evaluation misjudged and overconfidence in personal ability. A factor related to the accident was high winds. - [NTSB BFO87LA063](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/BFO87LA063.md): Balloon Works Firefly 7 · Richmond, VA · Accident · Serious injuries · Limited investigation · Final report · Sep 7, 1987 · N37526 · Minor damage > The Balloon was 10th to takeoff in a hound-&-hare competition. Drg flt, the plt noticed the wind had picked up & that the Balloon was drifting towards Richmond. He decided to land in a cemetery & briefed the passengers that the Balloon would touch down hard &… - [NTSB DEN87LA054](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/DEN87LA054.md): Balloon Works Firefly 7 · Colo. Springs, CO · Accident · Serious injuries · Limited investigation · Final report · Feb 11, 1987 · N40458 · No damage > The Balloon attempted a normal landing. The instructor plt diverted his attention while the student plt allowed the envelope to cool excessively. This gave a high rate of descent and the Balloon made a hard landing. - [NTSB MKC86LA191](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/MKC86LA191.md): Barnes AX-7 · Creston, IA · Accident · Serious injuries · Limited investigation · Final report · Sep 20, 1986 · N2054F · No damage > The pilot of the hot air balloon made a landing that was hard enough to break her right ankle. The pilot stated the accident possibly could have been avoided if she had been wearing hightop shoes with laces. - [NTSB MKC85LA185](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/MKC85LA185.md): Balloon Works Firefly 7 · Shawnee, KS · Accident · Serious injuries · Limited investigation · Final report · Aug 11, 1985 · N40468 · No damage > The commercial Balloon plt was giving a ride to three paying passengers. Plt stated that during the landing apch higher than normal winds were present so he briefed the passengers to lean against the side of the basket. He stated that he pulled the deflation… - [NTSB NYC84IA164](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/NYC84IA164.md): Barnes Firefly 7 · Gorham, ME · Incident · Minor injuries · Incident investigation · Final report · May 7, 1984 · N3613D · No damage > During touch and go landings the balloon encountered increased winds. The balloon touched down hard tilting the basket onto its side. A passengers arm became caught between the basket and the ground. - [NTSB DEN84LA043](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/DEN84LA043.md): Balloon Works Firefly 7 · Monte Vista, CO · Accident · Serious injuries · Limited investigation · Final report · Nov 11, 1983 · N2416H · No damage > The plt was participating in a 'hare & hounds' Balloon contest. The aircrews were wx briefed at the launch site before the event. Reportedly, there was a front approaching but it was not expected to move thru until about 2 to 3 hrs after the contest.… - [NTSB DEN82DTE26](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/DEN82DTE26.md): Barnes AX-7 · Aurora, CO · Accident · Serious injuries · Final report · Sep 4, 1982 · N4069Y · No damage > The VFR local pleasure flight was being conducted in strong 20-25 kt wind conditions. The wind condition had changed substantially during the duration of the flight. During a landing in a plowed field the gondola bounced and was drug approximately 270 feet.… - [NTSB FTW82FQA21](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/FTW82FQA21.md): Barnes AX-7 · Albuquerque, NM · Accident · Serious injuries · Final report · Jul 4, 1982 · N2045F · No damage > The pilot stated she made a practice landing near a large hill and had no problems landing. She continued flight for approximately 20 minutes and prepared to land on a road. The balloon impacted a road embankment at touchdown and the pilot broke her leg. She… ## The whole list in SQL Runs in DuckDB 1.2 or later on the release's Parquet files over HTTPS: ```sql SELECT c."ntsbNumber", c."eventDate", c."eventType", c."eventCity", c."eventStateOrRegion", a.n_number, a."aircraftMake", a."aircraftModel", c."highestInjuryLevel", c."totalFatal", c."completionStatus", c.report_url FROM 'https://openairdocs.org/data/latest/ntsb_case_detail.parquet' c LEFT JOIN 'https://openairdocs.org/data/latest/ntsb_aircrafts.parquet' a ON a.case_mkey = c."mKey" AND a.position = 1 WHERE c."mKey" IN (SELECT x.case_mkey FROM 'https://openairdocs.org/data/latest/ntsb_aircrafts.parquet' x WHERE x.aircraft_model_code IN ('1050100') AND EXISTS (SELECT 1 FROM 'https://openairdocs.org/data/latest/ntsb_occurrences.parquet' o WHERE o.case_mkey = x.case_mkey AND o.aircrafts_position = x.position AND o."occurrenceNumber" = 1 AND o."occurrenceCode" = 200)) ORDER BY c."eventDate" DESC, c."ntsbNumber" DESC ``` This list as a web page: https://openairdocs.org/ntsb?model=1050100&occurrence=200 --- OpenAirDocs.org is an independent research project of [Contrail Labs](https://contraillabs.com/). It is not affiliated with the FAA or the NTSB. Source documents are U.S. government works in the public domain.