- Date
- June 23, 2001, 20:15 UTC
- Place
- Celina, TX
- Injuries
- 1 serious, 1 uninjured
- Damage
- No damage
- Phase of flight
- Landing
- Aircraft
- N72524Balloon Works Firefly 8B-15
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Night/bright
- Status
- Completed · report October 23, 2001
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- Parties
- FAA FSDO
- FAA report
- 20010623033529A
- Case key
- 52564
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 unsuitable landing area selected by the pilot-in-command which resulted in a hard landing. A contributing factor was the uneven/rough terrain.
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 commercial balloon pilot was demonstrating an upslope landing on a terraced hill. The balloon bounced on one of the terraces, and the student pilot was "thrown forward." The student pilot lost her footing, one of her shoes became lodged in the bottom of the basket, and she sustained a broken ankle. The instructor aborted the landing, and landed the balloon at the next available field.
Factual narrative
On June 23, 2001, approximately 2015 central daylight time, a Balloon Works Firefly 8B-15 hot air balloon, N72524, was not damaged during a hard landing near Celina, Texas. The commercial pilot was not injured, and the student pilot received serious injuries. The balloon was owned and operated by the student pilot. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed and a flight plan was not filed for the 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91 instructional flight. The flight departed McKinney, Texas, approximately 1900.
The instructor and student pilot stated that during the instructional flight, the instructor had demonstrated several approaches and landings. During a landing to an upward sloping terraced hill, the balloon bounced on one of the terraces, and the student pilot was "thrown forward." The student pilot had lost her footing, one of her shoes became lodged in the bottom of the basket, and she sustained a broken ankle. The instructor aborted the landing, and landed at the next available field.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N72524
- Reported as
- Balloon Works Firefly 8B-15
- Category
- Balloon
- Serial number
- F8B-615
- Airframe hours
- 28.75
- Engine
- none, unknown
- Damage
- No damage
- Flight
- Instructional · Part 91
- Registered owner
- Michael B. Marx
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Last inspection
- Annual · September 27, 2000 · 28.75 hours before
- Departed
- NONE · McKinney, TX
- Destination
- TX
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 · 2
As NTSB recorded them. NTSB leaves out names.
- Role
- Pilot
- Injuries
- None
- Certificate
- Commercial
- Instrument ratings
- Helicopter
- Flight hours
- 965 total · 623 as pilot in command · 15 in the last 90 days · 9 in the last 30 days · 2 in the last 24 hours
- Role
- Student pilot
- Age
- 41
- Injuries
- Serious
- Certificate
- Student
- Flight hours
- 12 total · 12 in this make and model · 2 in the last 90 days · 2 in the last 30 days
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Night/bright
- Wind
- 140° at 8 knots
- Visibility
- 10 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 84 °F, dew point 55 °F
- Altimeter
- 30.02 inHg
FAA reports on this event · 1
The FAA’s own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date.