- Date
- October 10, 2012, 08:30 local (14:30 UTC)
- Place
- Albuquerque, NM
- Injuries
- 1 serious, 2 uninjured
- Damage
- No damage
- Phase of flight
- Landing
- Aircraft
- N230LBArbc Inc DBA Lindstrand 90A
- Defining event
- Landing: Hard landing
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report December 19, 2012
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- NTSB office
- Central Region
- Case key
- 85385
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 passenger’s inadequate brace position for the balloon landing, which resulted in a serious injury.
Findings · 1
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 pilot of the balloon stated that at the conclusion of the local flight, he was making an approach for landing near a field. At 15 feet above the ground, the pilot pulled out the top of the balloon and landed without a bounce. The balloon then dragged across the ground for 20 feet and came to rest. Prior to landing, the passengers were briefed for a possible hard landing. The pilot noticed that one passenger did not assume the proper brace position. That passenger was seriously injured during the landing and the balloon was not damaged.
Factual narrative
The pilot of the balloon stated that at the conclusion of the local flight, he was making an approach for landing near a field. At 15 feet above the ground, the pilot pulled out the top of the balloon and landed without a bounce. The balloon then dragged across the ground for 20 feet and came to rest. Prior to landing, the passengers were briefed for a possible hard landing. The pilot noticed that one passenger did not assume the proper brace position. That passenger was seriously injured during the landing and the balloon was not damaged.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N230LB
- Reported as
- Arbc Inc DBA Lindstrand 90A
- Category
- Balloon
- Serial number
- 5393
- Airframe hours
- 120
- Damage
- No damage
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Operator
- James Ireland
- Registered owner
- James Ireland
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Last inspection
- Annual · March 24, 2012
- 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
- 71
- Injuries
- None
- Certificate
- Commercial
- Medical
- Class 3, With waivers/limitations
- Last flight review
- July 4, 2012
- Flight hours
- 927 total · 462 in this make and model · 915 as pilot in command · 17 in the last 90 days · 6 in the last 30 days · 1 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 8° at 18 knots, gusting 24
- Visibility
- 10 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 55 °F, dew point 34 °F
- Altimeter
- 30.10 inHg
Docket · 1
The files NTSB released with the investigation on October 25, 2012, on NTSB’s docket system: statements, records, photos and specialists’ reports. 378 KB in all.