# NTSB DEN93FA101: Thunder and Colt 240A, N748TC, Woody Creek, CO, August 8, 1993 - Type: NTSB accident investigation - Classification: Accident · Serious injuries · Field investigation · Final report - Date: August 8, 1993, 08:01 local (14:01 UTC) - Place: Woody Creek, CO - Coordinates: 39.280044, -106.899093 (estimated) - Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=39.2800&lon=-106.8991&mi=10 - Phase of flight: [Enroute](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-phases/400) (OpenAirDocs' grouping) - Highest injury: Serious injuries - Injuries: 4 serious, 7 minor - Status: Completed, report August 1, 1994 - Report: Approved by Office Director - NTSB case key (mKey): 11086 - NTSB case page: https://web.ntsb.gov/investigations/?ntsbnumber=DEN93FA101 - NTSB report (PDF, downloads): https://data.ntsb.gov/carol-repgen/api/Aviation/ReportMain/GenerateNewestReport/11086/pdf - Page: https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/DEN93FA101 ## Probable cause AN INFLIGHT ENCOUNTER WITH HIGH WINDS WHICH REQUIRED A PRECAUTIONARY LANDING. ## Sequence of events In NTSB's coding before 2008 (https://www.ntsb.gov/GILS/Documents/codman.pdf). - In flight encounter with weather, cruise - weather condition - high wind (cause) - In flight collision with object, landing - object - fence - Hard landing, landing - terrain condition - open field ## Analysis WHILE ON A LOCAL AREA PASSSENGER SIGHT SEEING FLIGHT, THE BALLOON ENCOUNTERED HIGH WINDS. DURING THE ENSUING PRECAUTIONARY LANDING, THE BALLOON STRUCK A FENCE AND LANDED HARD THROWING THE PILOT FROM THE BASKET. ## Factual narrative HISTORY OF FLIGHT On August 8, 1993, at 0800 mountain daylight time, a Thunder & Colt 240A balloon, N748TC, sustained substantial damage during a hard landing in a field near Woody Creek, Colorado. The commercial pilot and three passengers received serious injuries, and seven passengers received minor injuries. The balloon was operating under 14 CFR Part 91, as a local sight seeing flight. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed and no flight plan was filed. The flight departed from Snowmass Village, Colorado, at approximately 0630. The balloon, along with several other balloons, drifted in a westerly direction down the Aspen valley, to a point approximately five miles from the Aspen airport. According to the pilot, the wind changed rapidly in both direction and velocity to a westerly wind of about 30 knots, and the balloons drifted back towards the town of Aspen, Colorado, in an easterly direction. The pilot said that while attempting to land, the balloon struck a fence which caused her to be thrown from the basket. The deflation panel had been pulled and the balloon landed hard in an open field. Witnesses said the balloon skidded across the field after initial touch down and skid marks extended across the field for approximately 250 feet. Witnesses and the passengers on the balloon reported that the wind shifted from an easterly wind to a wind from the west accompanied by a squall line. According to these persons, the wind speed appeared to be between 20 and 30 miles per hour (mph). PERSONNEL INFORMATION The pilot received her commercial balloon rating through Unicorn, the operator of the accident balloon, on May 9, 1988, after receiving 34 hours of dual training and 3.5 hours of solo training. FAA records show her having 34 balloon flights at the time she received her rating. Details of the pilot's flight experience are part of this document and may be found under PERSONNEL INFORMATION. AIRCRAFT INFORMATION According to information provided by the FAA, this balloon has no maximum capacity regarding numbers of people aboard, but is limited by gross weight. As depicted in this document, that weight was 3,427 pounds. The actual weight of the passengers is not known; however, using a weight of 180 pounds for males, 140 pounds for females, and 70 pounds for children under 10 years of age, the gross weight aboard at the time of the accident would have been 1,630 pounds. The attached weight and balance sheet provides information that the operating empty weight of the balloon was 1,355 pounds, resulting in a gross weight of 2,985 pounds. METEOROLOGICAL INFORMATION Recorded weather at the Aspen airport at 0745 local time was 6,000 feet scattered, 7,000 feet broken, 20 miles visibility, temperature 50 degrees fahrenheit, dew point 44 degrees fahrenheit, wind missing, and an altimeter setting of 30.00 Hg. Witnesses at the airport reported the wind to be calm during the time period of the recorded weather. They also stated that wind at the airport often does not accurately reflect the winds in the center of the valley due to the airport being shielded by a hill. Weather given to the pilot during the weather brief by Grand Junction Flight Service, was reported on NTSB Form 6120.1/2 and is depicted in this document under METEOROLOGICAL INFORMATION. Two video tapes were made during the event. One from the ground, and one from another balloon. These tapes provide a view of the changing weather conditions and provide a depiction of the wind in the area at the time of the accident. The tapes show the wind to be from the west with an increasing cloud cover. Witnesses on the ground estimated the wind speed to be approximately 30 miles per hour. ADDITIONAL INFORMATION The balloon was not retained. Wreckage was removed by the operator the day following the accident. ## Aircraft - Registration: [N748TC](https://openairdocs.org/deregistered/N748TC-2013-11-04), registration cancelled 2013-11-04, S/N 2285, built 1992 (OpenAirDocs) - Reported make and model: Thunder and Colt 240A - Registry model: [Thunder & Colt Airborne Amer 240A](https://openairdocs.org/model/thunder-colt-airborne-amer-240a) (registry code 2301225) (OpenAirDocs) - Registry engine: [NONE](https://openairdocs.org/engine/none) (registry code 00000, none) (OpenAirDocs) - Category: Balloon - Serial number: 2285 - Airframe hours: 125 - Engines: unknown - Damage: Substantial damage - Flight: Part 91 - Registered owner: Unicorn Balloon Co., Inc. - Airworthiness certificate: Standard, Normal - Last inspection: 100 hour, May 27, 1993, 47 hours before - Departed: NONE, SNOWMASS, CO - Destination: NONE ## Flight crew As NTSB recorded them. NTSB leaves out names. - Pilot; age 33; commercial; flight hours: 1,054 total, 56 in this make and model, 1,009 as pilot in command, 74 in the last 90 days, 33 in the last 30 days, 3 in the last 24 hours ## Weather - Conditions: Visual (VMC), Day - Visibility: 50 statute miles - Lowest ceiling: 8,000 ft broken - Temperature: 64 °F - Observed at: GCT, 70 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 19930808027849A](https://openairdocs.org/incident/19930808027849A), Aug 8, 1993: Colt 240A, Woody Creek, CO, Substantial damage. Encountered high wind. During precautionary hard landing pilot was thrown from the basket. Passenger injured. 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.