- Date
- May 25, 2009, 08:30 local (14:30 UTC)
- Place
- Albuquerque, NM
- Injuries
- 1 serious, 4 uninjured
- Damage
- No damage
- Phase of flight
- Landing
- Aircraft
- N120RBAerostar International S-60A
- Defining event
- Landing-flare/touchdown: Hard landing
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report November 9, 2009
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- NTSB office
- Central Region
- Parties
- FAA FSDO
- FAA report
- 20090525009389A
- Case key
- 73914
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 excessive descent rate.
Findings · 2
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
On a scenic balloon flight with four passengers, the pilot located a clear area to land the balloon. As the pilot maneuvered the balloon to the area, the wind the pilot was expecting did not materialize and the pilot picked an alternate site. In order to remain clear of obstacles, the pilot "vented" the balloon "and had a hard landing." During the landing, one of the passengers sustained a broken ankle.
Factual narrative
On May 25, 2009, at approximately 0830 mountain daylight time, an Aerostar International Inc., S-60A balloon, N120RB, piloted by a commercial pilot, landed hard near Albuquerque, New Mexico. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed at the time of the accident. The scenic flight was being conducted under the provisions of Title 14 CFR Part 91 without a flight plan. The pilot and three passengers were not injured; however, the fourth passenger received a broken ankle. The local flight originated about 0715. In a statement provided to the NTSB, the pilot stated that he had located an area to land the balloon. As the pilot maneuvered the balloon to the area, the wind the pilot was expecting did not materialize, and the pilot picked an alternate site. In order to remain clear of obstacles the pilot "vented" the balloon "and had a hard landing."
Aircraft
- Registration
- N120RB
- Reported as
- Aerostar International S-60A
- Category
- Balloon
- Serial number
- S60A-3075
- Airframe hours
- 154
- Damage
- No damage
- Flight
- Other work use · Part 91
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Last inspection
- Annual · March 13, 2009
- Departed
- Albuquerque, NM
- Destination
- Albuquerque, NM
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
- 42
- Injuries
- None
- Certificate
- Commercial
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land
- Medical
- Class 3, With waivers/limitations
- Last flight review
- July 15, 2008
- Flight hours
- 430 total · 41 in this make and model · 382 as pilot in command · 26 in the last 90 days · 21 in the last 30 days
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Visibility
- 10 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 61 °F
Docket · 1
The files NTSB released with the investigation on July 7, 2009, on NTSB’s docket system: statements, records, photos and specialists’ reports. 1.1 MB in all.
FAA reports on this event · 1
The FAA’s own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date.