- Date
- October 4, 1993, 08:21 local (14:21 UTC)
- Place
- Albuquerque, NM
- Injuries
- 1 minor, 1 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Landing
- Aircraft
- N27953Raven Rally RX7
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report August 1, 1994
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- FAA report
- 19931004037539A
- Case key
- 18947
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
Pilot's failure to maintain aircraft control. A 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 pilot reported that the winds were from the north at 5 knots gusting to 12 knots. During the landing flare the winds carried the balloon about 200 yards into a powrline.
Factual narrative
On October 4, 1993, approximately 0821 mountain daylight time, a Raven Rally RX7, N27953, sustained substantial damage near Albuquerque, New Mexico, during the landing flare. The commercial pilot received minor injuries. One passenger did not receive injury. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed for the local personal flight.
During a telephone interview, conducted by the Federal Aviation Administration inspector, the pilot reported that the winds, from the north at 5 knots gusting to 12 knots, picked up the balloon during the attempted landing. The pilot further reported that the balloon traveled approximately 200 yards and hit a powerline. Damage reported was a burned skirt and an envelope torn vertically.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N27953
- Reported as
- Raven Rally RX7
- Category
- Balloon
- Serial number
- 414
- Airframe hours
- 262
- Engine
- unknown
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Registered owner
- Ferguson, Gordon A.
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Last inspection
- Annual · May 28, 1993
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
- 70
- Certificate
- Commercial
- Medical
- Unknown
- Flight hours
- 244 total · 244 in this make and model · 1 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 360° at 5 knots, gusting 12
- Visibility
- 60 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 55 °F
FAA reports on this event · 1
The FAA’s own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date.