- Date
- January 31, 1993, 09:45 local (16:45 UTC)
- Place
- Durango, CO
- Injuries
- 3 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Maneuvering
- Aircraft
- N3581TRaven RX7
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report October 13, 1993
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- FAA report
- 19930131001749A
- Case key
- 18272
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
Partial failure of the balloon's burner for undetermined reasons. A factor was: unfavorable wind.
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 hot air balloon was about 200 feet AGL and several hundred yards south of the rim of a bluff. A rotor wind suddenly pushed the balloon towards powerlines. The pilot considered 'ripping out' the envelope but opted to activate the burner in an attempt to climb. He was successful in halting the balloon's descent, but the burner 'flamed out.' The balloon contacted the wires. The wires arced then broke. The pilot was able to relight the burner and make an uneventful landing. Substantial damage was reported to the balloon uprights and basket.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N3581T
- Reported as
- Raven RX7
- Category
- Balloon
- Serial number
- RX7-3220
- Airframe hours
- 200
- Engine
- unknown
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Operator
- Chapel, William L.
- Registered owner
- Chapel, William L.
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Last inspection
- Annual · January 4, 1993 · 7 hours before
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
- 57
- Certificate
- Commercial
- Flight hours
- 681 total · 218 in this make and model · 671 as pilot in command · 17 in the last 90 days · 8 in the last 30 days · 1 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 360° at 10 knots, gusting 20
- Visibility
- 50 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
FAA reports on this event · 1
The FAA’s own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date.