- Date
- July 2, 1992, 08:50 local (14:50 UTC)
- Place
- Pecos, NM
- Injuries
- 1 serious, 2 uninjured
- Damage
- No damage
- Phase of flight
- Landing
- Aircraft
- N4211VRaven S-60A
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report October 29, 1993
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- FAA report
- 19920702023539A
- Case key
- 18223
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
An encounter with high winds.
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
The pilot had obtained three weather briefings - at 2000, 0447, and 0705 - for a departure of between 0700 and 0730. Each indicated the weather conditions would be suitable for balloon flying. However, surface winds were forecast to be 15 KTS gusting 25 after 1000. As the balloon lifted off, a gust of wind was encountered, and the pilot elected to climb immediately to 1,000 ft. the pilot sighted a suitable landing area and descended through rotor winds and leveled off at 30 ft. speed was estimated at 25 mph. On touchdown, the basket tipped forward. A passenger was ejected and seriously injured when the basket was dragged over her.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N4211V
- Reported as
- Raven S-60A
- Category
- Balloon
- Serial number
- 560A-273
- Airframe hours
- 287
- Engine
- unknown
- Damage
- No damage
- Flight
- Part 91
- Operator
- Bond, Wayne & Chapel, Sally P., doing business as Balloons Over Santa Fe
- Registered owner
- Bond, Wayne & Chapel, Sally P.
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Last inspection
- Annual · April 21, 1992 · 19 hours before
- Departed
- NONE · Santa Fe, NM
- Destination
- NONE
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
- 54
- Certificate
- Commercial
- Medical
- Unknown
- Flight hours
- 384 total · 180 in this make and model · 384 as pilot in command · 19 in the last 90 days · 6 in the last 30 days
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 230° at 15 knots
- Visibility
- 40 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 72 °F, dew point 27 °F
- Altimeter
- 30.00 inHg
- Observed at
- SAF, 24 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.