- Date
- October 8, 1998, 10:00 local (16:00 UTC)
- Place
- Alberquerque, NM
- Injuries
- 1 serious, 2 uninjured
- Damage
- No damage
- Phase of flight
- Landing
- Aircraft
- N36609Balloon Works FIREFLY-7
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report May 19, 1999
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- FAA report
- 19981008037749A
- Case key
- 44155
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
The passenger's failure to follow procedures/directives for a hard landing. A factor was the congested/confined landing area with power lines on both ends.
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
According to the pilot, he was preparing to land in a small field with power lines upwind and downwind. He had instructed the passengers, the pilot's mother and a balloon ground crew member, how to brace themselves for a 'cold fast landing.' The pilot stated, upon landing, that as soon as they contacted the ground, he heard one of his passengers 'scream in pain.' Attempting to stop the balloon with the top pulled out, the balloon swung forward 6-8 ft. where it touched down a second time. After deflation of the balloon, he and one of his passengers exited the balloon, the other passenger was unable to exit due to two broken legs.
Factual narrative
On October 8, 1998, approximately 1000 mountain daylight time, a Balloon Works Firefly-7 balloon, N36609, was not damaged during a hard landing near Albuquerque, New Mexico. The private pilot and one passenger were not injured; however, a second passenger received serious injuries. The balloon was being operated by the pilot under Title 14 CFR Part 91. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed for the local personal flight which originated from Kodak Albuquerque International Balloon Fiesta Park, Albuquerque, New Mexico, approximately 60 minutes before the accident. No flight plan had been filed.
According to the pilot, he was preparing to land in a small field with power lines upwind and downwind. He had instructed the passengers, the pilot's mother and a balloon ground crew member, how to brace themselves for a "cold fast landing." The pilot stated, upon landing, that as soon as they contacted the ground, he heard one of his passengers "scream in pain." Attempting to stop the balloon with the top pulled out, the balloon swung forward 6-8 ft. where it touched down a second time. After deflation of the balloon, he and one of his passengers exited the balloon, the other passenger was unable to exit due to two broken legs.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N36609
- Reported as
- Balloon Works FIREFLY-7
- Category
- Balloon
- Serial number
- F7-048
- Airframe hours
- 193
- Engine
- unknown
- Damage
- No damage
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Registered owner
- Mark C. Otto
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Last inspection
- Annual · August 7, 1998 · 10 hours before
- Departed
- Fiesta Park, NM
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
- 36
- Certificate
- Private
- Flight hours
- 57 total · 54 in this make and model · 27 as pilot in command · 8 in the last 90 days · 4 in the last 30 days · 1 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Visibility
- 10 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 50 °F, dew point 36 °F
- Altimeter
- 30.00 inHg
- Observed at
- ABQ
FAA reports on this event · 1
The FAA’s own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date.