- Date
- October 28, 2001, 08:45 local (15:45 UTC)
- Place
- Albuquerque, NM
- Injuries
- 1 serious, 7 minor, 3 uninjured
- Damage
- Minor damage
- Phase of flight
- Landing
- Aircraft
- N30606Cameron Balloon A-210
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report February 20, 2002
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- Parties
- FAA FSDO
- FAA report
- 20011028036859A
- Case key
- 53687
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 excessive descent rate during the landing approach, which resulted in a hard landing. Contributing factors were the high wind conditions and the lack of suitable terrain 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
The pilot obtained a weather briefing prior to the hot-air balloon flight. The pilot reported that during the initial part of the flight, the wind was "light as forecasted." During the approach to landing, the pilot noticed the "winds starting to increase varying greatly in direction." The landing sites were "minimal," and she elected to land in a field. She briefed her passengers for a "steep approach/short field landing." As the balloon reached trees upwind from the landing site, the pilot pulled the deflation port, and warned her passengers that the landing was going to be "very hard." She added that as the balloon passed over the tree line, "it felt like we were being pushed to the ground at a greater descent than I expected." The balloon subsequently impacted the ground hard. The wind in the local area was reported as 120 degrees at 3 knots. The pilot reported the wind from 140 to 200 degrees at 15-20 knots.
Factual narrative
On October 28, 2001, at 0845 mountain standard time, a Cameron Balloon A-210, N30606, sustained minor damage during a hard landing near Albuquerque, New Mexico. The hot-air balloon was registered to and operated by Rainbow Ryders Inc., of Albuquerque, New Mexico. The commercial pilot and two passengers were not injured, seven passengers sustained minor injuries, and one passenger sustained serious injuries. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed and a flight plan was not filed for the 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91 aerial observation flight. The local flight departed from a field at 0725.
According to the pilot's written statement, the pilot obtained a weather briefing prior to the flight's departure. The pilot reported that during the initial part of the flight, the wind was "light as forecasted." During the approach, the pilot noticed the "winds starting to increase varying greatly in direction." The landing sites were "minimal," and she elected to land in a field. She briefed her passengers for a "steep approach/short field landing." As the balloon reached trees upwind from the landing site, the pilot pulled the deflation port, and warned her passengers that the landing was going to be "very hard." She added that as the balloon passed over the tree line, "it felt like we were being pushed to the ground at a greater descent than I expected." The balloon subsequently impacted the ground hard.
At 0856, the Albuquerque International Sunport's weather observation facility reported the wind from 120 degrees at 3 knots. The pilot reported the wind from 140 to 200 degrees at 15-20 knots.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N30606
- Reported as
- Cameron Balloon A-210
- Category
- Balloon
- Serial number
- 6066
- Airframe hours
- 617
- Engine
- Damage
- Minor damage
- Flight
- Aerial observation · Part 91
- Registered owner
- Rainbow Ryders, Inc.
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Last inspection
- Annual · April 12, 2001 · 59 hours before
- Departed
- NONE · 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
- 51
- Injuries
- None
- Certificate
- Commercial
- Last flight review
- March 30, 2000
- Flight hours
- 2,100 total · 2,090 as pilot in command · 28 in the last 90 days · 21 in the last 30 days · 2 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 120° at 3 knots
- Visibility
- 10 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- 25,000 ft broken
- Temperature
- 63 °F, dew point 45 °F
- Altimeter
- 30.35 inHg
- Observed at
- ABQ, 20 nm away
FAA reports on this event · 1
The FAA’s own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date.