- Date
- August 22, 1982, 10:30 local (16:30 UTC)
- Place
- Phillip, SD
- Injuries
- 1 serious, 2 uninjured
- Damage
- Minor damage
- Phase of flight
- Standing
- Aircraft
- N4010SRaven RX-7
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report August 22, 1983
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- FAA report
- 19820822041229A
- Case key
- 72209
From the NTSB’s public API. By law, NTSB reports can’t be used as evidence in lawsuits over the accident.
On this page
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
After the fourth landing, the balloon had been on the ground about 8 minutes when a whirl wind suddenly hit the envelope. The balloon lifted up about 2 to 3 ft and was blown into the side of a chase vehicle. One of the passengers was thrown out of the gondola, but landed safely. The other passenger's shoulder was fractured when she hit a propane tank during the impact. The injured passenger and the pilot remained in the gondola as it ascended about 40 to 50 ft. the pilot heated the air in the balloon so that it would remain at altitude until it was freed from the whirl wind. About 3 to 4 minutes later, the whirl wind dissipated and the pilot landed.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N4010S
- Reported as
- Raven RX-7
- Category
- Balloon
- Serial number
- RX-7 269
- Airframe hours
- 22
- Engine
- unknown
- Damage
- Minor damage
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Operator
- Richard Burns
- Registered owner
- Richard Burns
- Departed
- Phillip, SD
- Destination
- Phillip, SD
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
- 31
- Certificate
- Private
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land
- Medical
- Class 3, Valid Medical--no waivers/lim.
- Flight hours
- 121 total · 25 in this make and model · 63 as pilot in command · 23 in the last 90 days · 2 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 90° at 3 knots
- Visibility
- 15 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- 8,000 ft overcast
- Temperature
- 165 °F
FAA reports on this event · 1
The FAA’s own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date.