- Date
- September 20, 2007, 08:45 local (14:45 UTC)
- Place
- Hartsel, CO
- Injuries
- 1 serious, 4 uninjured
- Damage
- No damage
- Phase of flight
- Landing
- Aircraft
- N5294DAerostar S81A
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report November 29, 2007
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- Case key
- 66730
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 maintain the proper descent rate. A factor contributing to the accident was the unfavorable wind conditions.
Sequence of events
NTSB’s coding before 2008: each occurrence and phase of flight, and the causes and factors under it. The codes are defined in NTSB’s coding manual.
Analysis
According to the pilot, the departure and en route portion of the flight were normal. While setting up for the landing, the pilot noted the wind was approximately 10 to 14 knots and "nothing was unusual." During the touchdown, "the initial impact was hard, followed by a small hop, and then a second impact." One passenger sustained serious injuries.
Factual narrative
According to the pilot, the departure and en route portion of the flight were normal. While setting up for the landing, the pilot noted the wind was approximately 10 to 14 knots and "nothing was unusual." During the touchdown, the "initial impact was hard, followed by a small hop, and then a second impact." The basket came to rest upright. The pilot and three passengers were not injured and one passenger sustained a fractured lower leg.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N5294D
- Reported as
- Aerostar S81A
- Category
- Balloon
- Serial number
- S-81A-3011
- Engine
- Damage
- No damage
- Flight
- Other work use · Part 91
- Operator
- Colorado Rocky Ballooning, LLC, doing business as Colorado Hot Air Balloon Rides
- Registered owner
- Colorado Rocky Ballooning LLC
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Departed
- Hartsel, CO
- Destination
- Hartsel, CO
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
- 47
- Certificate
- Commercial
- Flight hours
- 1,025 total · 519 in this make and model · 66 in the last 90 days · 16 in the last 30 days
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day