- Date
- September 7, 1987, 18:30 local (22:30 UTC)
- Place
- Richmond, VA
- Injuries
- 1 serious, 2 uninjured
- Damage
- Minor damage
- Phase of flight
- Landing
- Aircraft
- N37526Balloon Works Firefly 7
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report January 11, 1989
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- Case key
- 11338
From the NTSB’s public API. By law, NTSB reports can’t be used as evidence in lawsuits over the accident.
On this page
Sequence of events
NTSB’s coding before 2008: each occurrence and phase of flight, and the causes and factors under it. The codes are defined in NTSB’s coding manual.
Analysis
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 & most likely be dragged. Drg the landing, one of the passengers sustained a broken ankle. The balloon drifted into a fence & a power line & received minor damage.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N37526
- Reported as
- Balloon Works Firefly 7
- Category
- Balloon
- Serial number
- F7-137
- Airframe hours
- 250
- Engine
- unknown
- Damage
- Minor damage
- Flight
- Part 91
- Registered owner
- Ken Roeschen
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Last inspection
- Annual · February 15, 1987 · 70 hours before
- Airport
- RIC
Matched to the registry by N-number and the event date; the registry’s history has gaps, so older matches can be wrong. Compare the reported make and model.
Flight crew
As NTSB recorded them. NTSB leaves out names.
- Role
- Pilot
- Age
- 29
- Certificate
- Commercial
- Medical
- Unknown
- Flight hours
- 350 total · 250 in this make and model · 2 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 90° at 11 knots
- Visibility
- 8 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- 18,000 ft broken
- Temperature
- 79 °F, dew point 70 °F
- Altimeter
- 29.00 inHg
- Observed at
- RIC