- Date
- September 12, 2010, 19:40 local (23:40 UTC)
- Place
- Ft. Wayne, IN
- Injuries
- 1 serious, 2 uninjured
- Damage
- No damage
- Phase of flight
- Landing
- Aircraft
- N2064WHead Balloons AX8-88
- Defining event
- Landing-flare/touchdown: Collision with terr/obj (non-CFIT)
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report March 16, 2011
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- NTSB office
- Central Region
- Parties
- FAA-SBN-FSDO
- FAA report
- 20100912047089A
- Case key
- 77314
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 selection of unsuitable terrain for the landing.
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
The balloon was airborne for approximately 30 minutes prior to the pilot setting up for a landing in a grassy area alongside a road. The pilot reported that the ground crew informed him that there was a ditch running parallel to the side of the road. The balloon touched down in a bean field, about 20 feet from the grass area, and the ground crew grabbed the basket as it moved into the grass. The ground crew was not able to stop the basket and it traveled into the 10-foot deep ditch. The balloon came to rest at the bottom of the ditch with the ground crew still hanging on. One of the two passengers on board suffered a fractured leg. The injured passenger stated that she thought that either the other passenger or the pilot hit her leg during the landing. There was no damage to the balloon envelope or basket.
Factual narrative
The balloon was airborne for approximately 30 minutes prior to the pilot setting up for a landing in a grassy area alongside a road. The pilot reported the ground crew informed him that there was a ditch running parallel to the side of the road. However, the pilot reported he did not know the depth of the ditch. The local winds were 6 to 7 miles per hour at the time of the landing. The pilot reported he briefed the passengers for the landing. The balloon touched down in a bean field, about 20 feet from the grass area, and the ground crew grabbed the basket as it moved into the grass. The ground crew was not able to stop the basket and it traveled into the 10-foot deep ditch. The balloon came to rest at the bottom of the ditch with the ground crew still hanging on. One of the two passengers on board suffered a fractured leg. The injured passenger stated that she thought that either the other passenger or the pilot hit her leg during the landing. There was no damage to the balloon envelope or basket.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N2064W
- Reported as
- Head Balloons AX8-88
- Category
- Balloon
- Serial number
- 340
- Airframe hours
- 206
- Damage
- No damage
- Flight
- Other work use · Part 91
- Operator
- Windswept Aeronauts Inc
- Registered owner
- Windswept Aeronauts Inc
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Last inspection
- Annual · May 22, 2010
- Departed
- Ft. Wayne, IN
- Destination
- Ft. Wayne, IN
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
- 66
- Injuries
- None
- Certificate
- Commercial
- Last flight review
- July 7, 2010
- Flight hours
- 615 total · 615 in this make and model · 607 as pilot in command · 5 in the last 90 days · 2 in the last 30 days · 1 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 350° at 3 knots
- Visibility
- 10 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 64 °F, dew point 48 °F
- Altimeter
- 30.04 inHg
- Observed at
- FWA, 16 nm away
Docket · 1
The files NTSB released with the investigation on September 28, 2010, 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.