- Date
- June 18, 2011, 09:20 local (13:20 UTC)
- Place
- Summerdale, AL
- Injuries
- 2 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Approach
- Aircraft
- N8190VHead Balloons AX8-88
- Defining event
- Approach: Collision during takeoff/land
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report November 22, 2011
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- NTSB office
- Eastern Region Aviation
- Parties
- FAA Birmingham Alabama FSDO
- FAA report
- 20110618011429A
- Case key
- 80857
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 balloon pilot's failure to maintain proper altitude/clearance from a tree line during the landing approach.
Findings · 3
NTSB’s coded findings. Those marked are part of the probable cause; the rest are factors or other findings. Under each, the cases with the same finding.
Sequence of events
The events NTSB coded, in order, by phase of flight. The defining event is the one that best describes the accident. Under each, the cases with the same event anywhere in their sequence.
Analysis
The pilot of the balloon reported that he elected to land in a large field after the wind speed increased during the flight. During the approach the pilot aligned the gondola to scrape along the top of a tree line adjacent to the intended landing field. He stated that, in ballooning, it is a common practice to scrape against the tops of trees on approach. The pilot allowed the balloon to descend too low during the maneuver and the balloon's "red line" became tangled in the trees which caused the envelope to deflate. The balloon then caught fire and the gondola settled to the ground as the pilot turned off the fuel. Both he and the passenger egressed the gondola safely before fire consumed the gondola.
Factual narrative
The pilot of the balloon elected to land in a large field after the wind speed increased during the flight. During the approach, the pilot aligned the gondola to scrape along the top of a tree line adjacent to the intended landing field. He stated that, in ballooning, it is a common practice to scrape against the tops of trees on approach. The pilot stated that he got too low during the maneuver and the balloon's "red line" became tangled in the trees which caused the envelope to deflate. The balloon then caught fire and the gondola settled to the ground as the pilot turned off the fuel. Both he and the passenger egressed the gondola safely before fire consumed the gondola.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N8190V
- Reported as
- Head Balloons AX8-88
- Category
- Balloon
- Serial number
- 208
- Airframe hours
- 240
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Fire
- On-Ground
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Last inspection
- Annual · February 1, 2011
- Departed
- Foley, AL
- Destination
- Summerdale, AL
- Airport
- N/A
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
- 56
- Injuries
- None
- Certificate
- Private
- Flight hours
- 142 total · 142 in this make and model · 135 as pilot in command · 20 in the last 90 days · 10 in the last 30 days · 0 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 230° at 6 knots
- Visibility
- 10 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 86 °F, dew point 77 °F
- Altimeter
- 30.07 inHg
- Observed at
- KCQF, 12 nm away
Docket · 3
The files NTSB released with the investigation on October 5, 2011, on NTSB’s docket system: statements, records, photos and specialists’ reports. 486 KB in all.
FAA reports on this event · 1
The FAA’s own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date.