- Date
- October 13, 2001, 08:10 local (14:10 UTC)
- Place
- Albuquerque, NM
- Injuries
- 3 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Landing
- Aircraft
- N407TCThunder and Colt AX8-90
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report July 1, 2002
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- Parties
- FAA FSDO
- FAA report
- 20011013027339A
- Case key
- 53630
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 clearance with the obstacles during landing. A contributing factor was the gusty winds.
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 balloon struck vehicles and poles during landing in gusty wind conditions. The envelope received multiple tears, and the basket received light scrapes. The weather observation facility reported the wind from 130 degrees at 13 knots gusting to 18 knots.
Factual narrative
On October 13, 2001, at 0810 mountain daylight time, a Thunder and Colt AX8-90 balloon, N407TC, struck vehicles and poles during landing near Albuquerque, New Mexico. The balloon was owned and operated by the pilot under 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91. The private pilot and his two passengers were not injured, and the balloon sustained substantial damage. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed throughout the area. A flight plan was not filed for the local personal flight which departed the Balloon Fiesta Park approximately 0800.
The pilot reported that during the landing in gusty wind conditions, the balloon struck a motor home, skidded along the ground, and struck a minivan. Subsequently, the envelope caught 2 light poles, bending the poles approximately 45 degrees, before the basket came to rest against a sport utility van located in the parking lot. The plastic top of the motor home was damaged, the right tail light was broken on the minivan, and the door was dented on the sport utility vehicle. The envelope received multiple tears, and the basket received light scrapes.
At 0756, the Albuquerque weather observation facility reported the wind from 130 degrees at 13 knots gusting to 18 knots, visibility 10 statute miles, sky clear, temperature 7 degrees Celsius (44 degrees Fahrenheit), and dew point -13 degrees Celsius (9 degrees Fahrenheit). The altimeter setting was 30.01 inches of Mercury.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N407TC
- Reported as
- Thunder and Colt AX8-90
- Category
- Balloon
- Serial number
- 2158USA
- Airframe hours
- 289.5
- Engine
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Registered owner
- Keith R. Newbill
- Last inspection
- Annual · March 16, 2001 · 11.2 hours before
- Departed
- Albuquerque, 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
- 53
- Injuries
- None
- Certificate
- Private
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land
- Instrument ratings
- Airplane
- Last flight review
- June 10, 2000
- Flight hours
- 427 total · 247 in this make and model
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 130° at 13 knots, gusting 18
- Visibility
- 10 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 45 °F, dew point 9 °F
- Altimeter
- 30.01 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.