# NTSB DEN08LA005: Sproul 72K-TET, N72KX, Rio Rancho, NM, October 9, 2007 - Type: NTSB accident investigation - Classification: Accident · Serious injuries · Limited investigation · Final report - Date: October 9, 2007, 07:50 local (13:50 UTC) - Place: Rio Rancho, NM - Coordinates: 35.265834, -106.666114 - Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=35.2658&lon=-106.6661&mi=10 - Phase of flight: [Enroute](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-phases/400) (OpenAirDocs' grouping) - Highest injury: Serious injuries - Injuries: 1 serious, 2 uninjured - Status: Completed, report January 31, 2008 - Report: Approved by Office Director - Parties: FAA Flight Standards District Office - NTSB case key (mKey): 66906 - NTSB case page: https://web.ntsb.gov/investigations/?ntsbnumber=DEN08LA005 - NTSB report (PDF, downloads): https://data.ntsb.gov/carol-repgen/api/Aviation/ReportMain/GenerateNewestReport/66906/pdf - Page: https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/DEN08LA005 ## Probable cause The pilot's inadequate inflight planning/judgment, and his selection of unsuitable terrain on which to make a landing. Contributing factors in this accident were the unfavorable wind, and the pilot misjudging his airspeed. ## Analysis The hot air free balloon was participating in the Albuquerque International Balloon Fiesta. The pilot received a preflight FAA weather briefing in which the wind was forecasted to be between 3 mph and 5 mph. Once airborne, the pilot realized the winds were "quite variable" at different altitudes. The balloon was at 2,000 feet agl and traveling about 8 mph. By observing other balloons and talking to other pilots via radio, he discovered the winds closer to the ground were "quite fast and going in the opposite direction." One pilot who had landed had reported his balloon was going about 25 mph at 500 feet agl, then it slowed to about 8 mph when it got close to the ground. The accident pilot descended and encountered 25 mph winds. As he got closer to the ground, the balloon slowed "but only to about 15 to 16 mph." He attempted to land on the north side of a new housing development, but the wind carried the balloon to the south side of the development. There were brick retaining walls separating the different plots of land awaiting new house construction. The basket struck a street curb, scraped the top of a brick wall perpendicular to the balloon's flight path, and then impacted a second wall. The basket dragged along the wall, and then stopped, and the envelope draped over the other side of the wall. Upon impact with the second wall, a passenger was thrown against the fuel tank and sustained serious injuries. The pilot said the winds in other parts of the valley only a few miles away "were much less." In post-accident discussions with other pilots who had been involved in accidents and incidents that morning, the consensus was the winds had developed "faster than expected." Other pilots reported being pushed into the ground at low altitudes. They referred to these phenomena as a "false heavy." ## Factual narrative On October 9, 2007, approximately 0750 mountain daylight time, a Sproul 72K-TET, N72KX, registered to and operated by the pilot, sustained minor damage when it struck a cinderblock wall while landing at Rio Rancho, New Mexico. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed at the time of the accident. The personal flight was being conducted under the provisions of Title 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91 without a flight plan. One passenger was seriously injured, and the commercial pilot and another passenger escaped injury. The local flight originated in Albuquerque, New Mexico, approximately 0615. The hot air free balloon was participating in the Albuquerque International Balloon Fiesta. According to the pilot's accident report, he received a preflight FAA weather briefing. Winds were forecast to be between 3 mph and 5 mph through 1000. He took off approximately 0615 as part of the "Dawn Patrol." Once airborne, the pilot realized the winds were "quite variable" at different altitudes. The balloon was at 2,000 feet agl (above ground level) and traveling about 8 mph. By observing other balloons and talking to other pilots via radio, he discovered the winds closer to the ground were "quite fast and going in the opposite direction." He said that one pilot who had landed had reported his balloon was going about 25 mph at 500 feet agl, then it slowed to about 8 mph when it got close to the ground. The accident pilot began his descent and encountered 25 mph winds. As he got closer to the ground, the balloon slowed "but only to about 15 to 16 mph." He attempted to land on the north side of a new housing development, but the wind carried the balloon to the south side of the development. There were brick retaining walls separating the different plots of land awaiting new house construction. The basket struck a street curb, scraped the top of a brick wall perpendicular to the balloon's flight path, and then impacted a second wall. The basket dragged along the wall, and then stopped, and the envelope draped over the other side of the wall. Upon impact with the second wall, a passenger was thrown against the fuel tank, dislocating her hip and fracturing her pelvis. In his accident report, the pilot said the winds were from 170 degrees at 16 knots, gusting to 25 knots. "In other parts of the valley, only a few miles away," he wrote in his report, "the winds were much less." In post-accident discussions with other pilots who had been involved in accidents and incidents that morning, the consensus was the winds had developed "faster than expected." Other pilots reported being pushed into the ground at low altitudes. They referred to these phenomena as a "false heavy." The pilot gave a similar report to the New Mexico State Police. ## Sequence of events In NTSB's coding before 2008 (https://www.ntsb.gov/GILS/Documents/codman.pdf). - In flight encounter with weather, descent - normal - weather condition - high wind - In flight collision with object, landing - flare/touchdown - in-flight planning/decision - inadequate, pilot in command (cause) - unsuitable terrain or takeoff/landing/taxi area - selected, pilot in command (cause) - airspeed - misjudged, pilot in command (contributing factor) - weather condition - unfavorable wind (contributing factor) ## Aircraft - Registration: [N72KX](https://openairdocs.org/aircraft/N72KX), registered now, S/N S-003, built 2004 (OpenAirDocs) - Reported make and model: Sproul 72K-TET - Registry model: [Sproul Keith A 72K-TET](https://openairdocs.org/model/sproul-keith-a-72k-tet) (registry code 05617N9) (OpenAirDocs) - Registry engine: [NONE](https://openairdocs.org/engine/none) (registry code 00000, none) (OpenAirDocs) - Category: Balloon, amateur-built - Serial number: S-003 - Airframe hours: 74 - Damage: No damage - Flight: Personal, Part 91 - Registered owner: Keith A. Sproul - Airworthiness certificate: Special, Experimental (Special) - Last inspection: Condition, October 1, 2007 - Departed: NONE, Albuquerque, NM - Destination: NONE, Rio Rancho, NM ## Flight crew As NTSB recorded them. NTSB leaves out names. - Pilot; age 48; injuries: none; commercial; last flight review October 1, 2006; flight hours: 645 total, 72 in this make and model, 631 as pilot in command, 60 in the last 90 days, 17 in the last 30 days, 2 in the last 24 hours ## Weather - Conditions: Visual (VMC), Day - Wind: 330° at 4 knots - Visibility: 10 statute miles - Lowest ceiling: none - Temperature: 54 °F, dew point 30 °F - Altimeter: 30.29 inHg - Observed at: ABQ, 10 nm away ## FAA reports on this event (1) The FAA's own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date (OpenAirDocs). - [Accident 20071009022699A](https://openairdocs.org/incident/20071009022699A), Oct 9, 2007: Sproul 72KTET, Rio Rancho, NM, Minor damage. (-23) On October 9, 2007, at approximately 0830 local time, the pilot of N72KX, a Sproul model 72K-TET balloon, serial number S-003, made a hard landing near… ## Other investigations on N72KX (1) From the NTSB's public API. Aircraft are matched to registry aircraft by N-number and event date, checked against the reported serial number, make and model; the registry's history has gaps, so older matches can be wrong. Compare the reported make and model. - [NTSB CEN09LA009](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/CEN09LA009), Oct 10, 2008: Sproul 72K-TET (N72KX), Rio Rancho, NM, destroyed, 1 fatal. Probable cause: The pilot's failure to maintain clearance from the power lines and the failure of either pilot to take any corrective action to avoid the collision. From the NTSB's public API. Aircraft are matched to registry aircraft by N-number and event date, checked against the reported serial number, make and model; the registry's history has gaps, so older matches can be wrong. Compare the reported make and model. --- OpenAirDocs.org is an independent research project of [Contrail Labs](https://contraillabs.com/). It is not affiliated with the FAA or the NTSB. Source documents are U.S. government works in the public domain.