- Date
- November 5, 1989, 09:31 local (16:31 UTC)
- Place
- Tornillo, TX
- Injuries
- 2 serious
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Enroute
- Aircraft
- N1998YCameron V-77
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report September 9, 1992
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- FAA report
- 19891105044249A
- Case key
- 23000
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
Mechanical failure of the ignitor system, and failure of the pilot to use emergency burner relight procedures.
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 was drifting toward electrical power lines. The pilot attempted to add heat to the envelope without success. The balloon subsequently collided with the wires. After the collision, a fire erupted, but the pilot was able to extinguish the flames. In the pilot's statement, no mention was made of attempting to use any of the required backup ignition sources.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N1998Y
- Reported as
- Cameron V-77
- Category
- Balloon
- Serial number
- 5341
- Engine
- unknown
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Fire
- In-Flight
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Operator
- Bartolett, Karen Jean
- Departed
- NONE · Fabens, 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
As NTSB recorded them. NTSB leaves out names.
- Role
- Pilot
- Age
- 40
- Certificate
- Commercial
- Medical
- Unknown
- Flight hours
- 397 total · 397 in this make and model · 380 as pilot in command · 20 in the last 90 days · 10 in the last 30 days
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 225° at 5 knots
- Visibility
- 50 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 64 °F, dew point -0 °F
FAA reports on this event · 1
The FAA’s own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date.