# NTSB investigations: Balloon Works FIREFLY 8B-15: 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 DEN01LA158](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/DEN01LA158.md): Balloon Works Firefly 8B-15 · Colo. Springs, CO · Accident · Serious injuries · Limited investigation · Final report · Sep 2, 2001 · N2575P · Minor damage
  > the passenger's failure to follow instructions given to brace for a high wind landing, and the pilot's failure to adequately monitor the passenger's actions. A contributing factor was the thermal lift.
- [NTSB FTW01LA154](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/FTW01LA154.md): Balloon Works Firefly 8B-15 · Celina, TX · Accident · Serious injuries · Limited investigation · Final report · Jun 23, 2001 · N72524 · No damage
  > the unsuitable landing area selected by the pilot-in-command which resulted in a hard landing. A contributing factor was the uneven/rough terrain.
- [NTSB DEN99LA023](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/DEN99LA023.md): Balloon Works Firefly 8B-15 · Albuquerque, NM · Accident · Serious injuries · Limited investigation · Final report · Oct 5, 1998 · N3290G · No damage
  > The passenger not following high wind landing procedures/directives which were given to her by the pilot. A factor was the unforecasted high wind condition.
- [NTSB NYC98LA085](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/NYC98LA085.md): Balloon Works Firefly 8B-15 · Elk Garden, VA · Accident · Serious injuries · Limited investigation · Final report · Mar 27, 1998 · N31226 · Substantial damage
  > the pilot's improper weather evaluation. The gusty wind condition was a related factor.

## 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 ('1050111')
    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=1050111&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.