- Date
- October 7, 2008, 14:00 local (21:00 UTC)
- Place
- Albuquerque, NM
- Injuries
- 1 serious, 1 minor, 1 uninjured
- Damage
- No damage
- Phase of flight
- Landing
- Aircraft
- N808SPCameron Balloons US A-105
- Defining event
- Landing-flare/touchdown: Loss of control on ground
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report January 22, 2009
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- NTSB office
- Central Region
- Parties
- FAA/FSDO
- FAA report
- 20081007848969A
- Case key
- 69283
From the NTSB’s public API. By law, NTSB reports can’t be used as evidence in lawsuits over the accident.
On this page
Probable cause
The pilot's failure to maintain control of the balloon during landing. Contributing to the accident were the wind gusts.
Findings · 3
NTSB’s coded findings. Those marked are part of the probable cause; the rest are factors or other findings. Under each, the cases with the same finding.
Sequence of events
The events NTSB coded, in order, by phase of flight. The defining event is the one that best describes the accident. Under each, the cases with the same event anywhere in their sequence.
Analysis
The commercial rated balloon pilot obtained a weather briefing prior to his departure as a participant in an international balloon festival. The weather briefing provided by festival officials included calm winds at the surface and a wind speed of 13 miles per hour aloft. The pilot and his passengers (his grandparents) departed and flew approximately five miles from their launch site at an altitude of 1,800 feet above ground level before they reached their destnation. The pilot reported that at the time they landed the winds were "gusty" on the surface and the balloon was moving approximately two miles per hour when the basket touched down on the ground. The balloon's basket dragged approximately 60 feet along the surface, became airborne again for approximately 150 feet, and then landed and came to a full stop. The pilot reported that his grandfather sustained a broken leg when the basket first contacted the ground. A Federal Aviation Administration inspector, who was working at the festival, reported that there were occassional wind gusts on the day of the accident, but the weather was mostly clear with calm winds.
Factual narrative
The commercial rated balloon pilot obtained a weather briefing prior to his departure as a participant in an international balloon festival. The weather briefing provided by festival officials included calm winds at the surface and a wind speed of 13 miles per hour aloft. The pilot and his passengers (his grandparents) departed and flew approximately five miles from their launch site at an altitude of 1,800 feet above ground level before they reached their destnation. The pilot reported that at the time they landed the winds were "gusty" on the surface and the balloon was moving approximately two miles per hour when the basket touched down on the ground. The balloon's basket dragged approximately 60 feet along the surface, became airborne again for approximately 150 feet, and then landed and came to a full stop. The pilot reported that his grandfather sustained a broken leg when the basket first contacted the ground. A Federal Aviation Administration inspector, who was working at the festival, reported that there were occassional wind gusts on the day of the accident, but the weather was mostly clear with calm winds.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N808SP
- Reported as
- Cameron Balloons US A-105
- Category
- Balloon
- Serial number
- 5918
- Damage
- No damage
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Operator
- Tierney Ronald C
- Registered owner
- Tierney Ronald C
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Departed
- Albuquerque, NM
- Destination
- Albuquerque, NM
- Airport
- None
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
- 26
- Injuries
- None
- Certificate
- Commercial
- Flight hours
- 135 total · 95 in this make and model
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
FAA reports on this event · 1
The FAA’s own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date.