- Date
- November 26, 1995, 08:00 local (15:00 UTC)
- Place
- Rio Rancho, NM
- Injuries
- 1 serious, 3 uninjured
- Damage
- No damage
- Phase of flight
- Landing
- Aircraft
- N6360UAerostar RX8
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report November 11, 1996
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- FAA report
- 19951126046689A
- Case key
- 19717
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 improper planning/decision. A factor relating to the accident was: the high wind condition.
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 wind speed was 10 to 12 mph and he 'briefed the passengers on a high-wind landing procedure' of the balloon. To facilitate a landing, he 'ripped-out' the deflation port after clearing an arroyo and some bushes. Also, he reported that 'On impact one of the passengers...let go and did a backward somersault out of the basket. When the passenger righted herself, the basket struck her, breaking her right collar-bone.'
Factual narrative
On November 26, 1995, at 0800 mountain standard time, an Aerostar International, RX8, N6360U, registered to and operated by a private owner under Title 14 CFR Part 91 was not damaged following a high wind landing near Rio Rancho, New Mexico. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed for the local flight. The commercial pilot and two of his passengers were not injured, while a third passenger sustained serious injuries. The flight originated from Rio Rancho, New Mexico, approximately 30 minutes before the accident.
The pilot reported in the Pilot/Operator Report, that the wind speed was 10-12 mph and he "briefed the passengers on a high-wind landing procedure" of the balloon. The pilot "ripped-out" the deflation port after clearing the arroyo and some bushes to facilitate the landing. He further reported that "On impact one of the passengers...let go and did a backward somersault out of the basket. When the passenger righted herself, the basket struck her breaking her right collar-bone."
Aircraft
- Registration
- N6360U
- Reported as
- Aerostar RX8
- Category
- Balloon
- Serial number
- RX8-3132
- Airframe hours
- 194
- Engine
- unknown
- Damage
- No damage
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Registered owner
- Bruce W. Hale
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Last inspection
- Annual · December 12, 1994 · 54 hours before
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
- 45
- Certificate
- Commercial
- Medical
- Unknown, Unknown
- Flight hours
- 616 total · 133 in this make and model · 161 as pilot in command · 27 in the last 90 days · 13 in the last 30 days · 2 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 190° at 5 knots
- Visibility
- 60 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- 20,000 ft overcast
- Temperature
- 46 °F, dew point 21 °F
- Altimeter
- 30.00 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.