- Date
- March 28, 1999, 07:00 local (14:00 UTC)
- Place
- Elbert, CO
- Injuries
- 1 serious, 1 minor
- Damage
- No damage
- Phase of flight
- Landing
- Aircraft
- N74008Cameron V-77
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report April 25, 2001
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- FAA report
- 19990328047289A
- Case key
- 45978
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 pilot's failure to maintain a proper descent rate during touchdown, resulting in a hard landing. A factor was the passenger's failure to properly position herself for the landing.
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
Upon landing in a field, the basket tipped on its side and was dragged approximately 100 feet across the level, smooth ground. The passenger lost her grip on the uprights (nylon poles which support the propane burner above the basket) and her arm was subsequently caught between the basket and the ground. Upon impact, her collar bone was broken. The pilot stated in his accident report that a recommendation he could make to have helped prevent the accident would have been to make a 'slower descent.' According to the pilot, at approximately 250 feet agl during landing, the winds decreased from 10 to between 5 to 7 mph.
Factual narrative
On March 28, 1999, approximately 0700 mountain standard time, a Cameron V-77 balloon, N74008, owned and operated by the pilot, was not damaged following a hard landing near Elbert, Colorado. The commercial pilot received minor injuries and one passenger received serious injuries. The aircraft was being operated by the pilot under Title 14 CFR Part 91, and no flight plan was filed. The flight originated from a field near Black Forest, Colorado, at 0615. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed.
According the pilot, departure was normal, and they remained airborne for approximately 45 minutes. After selecting a field to land in, he cleared 30 foot power lines on the south end of the field. The pilot stated that at approximately 250 feet above the ground (agl), the winds decreased from 10 to between 5 to 7 mph. When the balloon touched down, the basket tipped on its side and was dragged approximately 100 feet across the level, smooth ground. The passenger lost her grip on the uprights (nylon poles which support the propane burner above the basket) and her arm was subsequently caught between the basket and the ground. Upon impact, her collar bone was broken. There was no damage to either the balloon or property on the ground.
The pilot stated in his accident report that a recommendation he could make to have helped prevent the accident would have been to make a "slower descent."
Aircraft
- Registration
- N74008
- Reported as
- Cameron V-77
- Category
- Balloon
- Serial number
- 5104
- Airframe hours
- 299
- Engine
- unknown
- Damage
- No damage
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Registered owner
- Russell N. Robinson
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Last inspection
- Annual · April 9, 1998 · 19 hours before
- Departed
- NONE · Black Forest, CO
- 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
- 51
- Certificate
- Commercial
- Instrument ratings
- Helicopter
- Medical
- Class 3, Valid Medical--no waivers/lim.
- Flight hours
- 1,300 total · 300 in this make and model · 3 in the last 90 days · 2 in the last 30 days · 1 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 180° at 5 knots
- Visibility
- 10 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 36 °F, dew point 27 °F
- Altimeter
- 30.00 inHg
FAA reports on this event · 1
The FAA’s own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date.