- Date
- October 7, 2022, 10:21 local (16:21 UTC)
- Place
- Albuquerque, NM
- Injuries
- 1 serious, 2 uninjured
- Damage
- Minor damage
- Phase of flight
- Landing
- Aircraft
- N9140FAerostar International S53A
- Defining event
- Landing: Collision during takeoff/land
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- Investigation class
- Class 4 - Basic report with no Prelim publish
- NTSB office
- Central Region
- Parties
- FAA FSDO
- FAA report
- 20221007016669A
- Case key
- 106086
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 inability to find a suitable landing area in a critical fuel situation and his decision to land on a highway, which resulted in the balloon impacting a bridge railing and terrain.
Findings · 4
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 reported that he was descending to land following a normal balloon flight. About 1,000 ft agl, the wind shifted direction, and the balloon began drifting over areas unsuitable for landing. The balloon had been airborne for an hour and a half, and fuel in the two tanks were about 20 and 35.9 percent respectively. With low fuel becoming critical and few options for a suitable landing site, the pilot elected to land the balloon on a highway. During the landing, the balloon struck a bridge railing and came down in a wooded area next to a river. One of the passengers on board sustained serious injuries. The pilot reported that there were no mechanical failures or malfunctions with the balloon that would have precluded normal operations. The pilot reported that he should have landed sooner.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N9140F
- Reported as
- Aerostar International S53A
- Category
- Balloon
- Serial number
- S53A-3052
- Damage
- Minor damage
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Registered owner
- Steven C. Derebey
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Balloon
- Departed
- Albuquerque, NM
- Equipment
- Unknown
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
- 70
- Injuries
- Minor
- Certificates
- Airline transport, Commercial, Flight engineer
- Airplane ratings
- Multi-engine land, Single-engine land
- Instrument ratings
- Airplane
- Medical
- Sport pilot
- Last flight review
- October 2, 2020
- Seat
- None
- Flight hours
- 26,787 total · 200 in this make and model · 26,500 as pilot in command · 10 in the last 90 days · 10 in the last 30 days · 2 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- Variable at 5 knots
- Visibility
- 50 statute miles
- Temperature
- 60 °F, dew point 50 °F
- Altimeter
- 30.20 inHg
- Observed at
- ABQ, 5 nm away
Docket · 5
The files NTSB released with the investigation on January 13, 2023, on NTSB’s docket system: statements, records, photos and specialists’ reports. 6.8 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.