# NTSB FTW96LA176: Raven S-66A, N2814D, San Antonio, TX, April 20, 1996 - Type: NTSB accident investigation - Classification: Accident · Serious injuries · Limited investigation · Final report - Date: April 20, 1996, 09:30 local (14:30 UTC) - Place: San Antonio, TX - Coordinates: 29.440315, -98.479286 (estimated) - Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=29.4403&lon=-98.4793&mi=10 - Phase of flight: [Landing](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-phases/550) (OpenAirDocs' grouping) - Highest injury: Serious injuries - Injuries: 1 serious, 6 uninjured - Status: Completed, report December 23, 1996 - Report: Approved by Office Director - NTSB case key (mKey): 19810 - NTSB case page: https://web.ntsb.gov/investigations/?ntsbnumber=FTW96LA176 - NTSB report (PDF, downloads): https://data.ntsb.gov/carol-repgen/api/Aviation/ReportMain/GenerateNewestReport/19810/pdf - Page: https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/FTW96LA176 ## Probable cause The pilot's inadequate briefing of his passengers. A factor was the high wind. ## Sequence of events In NTSB's coding before 2008 (https://www.ntsb.gov/GILS/Documents/codman.pdf). - Hard landing, landing - crew/group briefing - inadequate, pilot in command (cause) - weather condition - high wind (contributing factor) ## Analysis Two of the passengers stated that they received 'no briefing before the balloon ride started.' The pilot reported that the 'wind was calm for a normal takeoff.' The pilot further stated that during the flight, the 'wind picked up [from] the NE 10 to 12 mph at 200 feet AGL.' When the pilot descended the balloon for a landing, the balloon 'landed near the edge of a grassy field.' One of the passengers reported that 'the balloon impacted the ground and bounced 30 to 40 feet before impacting the ground again.' The pilot reported that the basket was 'dragged about 150 feet and came to a stop on its side.' According to the injured passenger, 'approximately 20 seconds before the basket hit the ground, the pilot told the passengers to crouch below the basket top and bend their knees.' She reported that she didn't know that 'there was anything wrong; and didn't have any expectation of what to do for the landing until he said that.' ## Factual narrative On April 20, 1996, at 0930 central daylight time, a Raven S-66A, N2814D, registered to and operated by a private owner under Title 14 CFR Part 91, was undamaged during a landing near San Antonio, Texas. The commercial pilot and five of his passengers were not injured; however, one passenger sustained serious injuries. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed for the local balloon flight that originated at San Antonio, Texas, approximately 1 hour and 6 minutes before the accident. No flight plan was filed. During telephone interviews conducted by the investigator-in-charge, two passengers reported that they received "no briefing before the balloon ride started." The injured passenger further stated that she "believed the basket to be very crowded with 7 people in it." The pilot reported in his Pilot/Operator Aircraft Accident Report that, the "wind was calm for a normal takeoff." The pilot further stated that after takeoff the "wind picked up [from] the NE 10 to 12 mph at 200 feet AGL." According to the pilot, he descended the balloon in an manner which allowed the basket to "brush through the leaves [of some 12 to 13 foot tall trees] to slow the forward momentum of the balloon." The pilot reported that the balloon "landed near the edge of a grassy field." One of the passengers reported that "the balloon impacted the ground and bounced 30 to 40 feet before impacting the ground again." The pilot reported that the basket was "dragged about 150 feet and came to a stop, basket on its side." The injured passenger was on the low side of the basket, and, when the basket came to rest, there were people on top of her. According to the injured passenger, who was on her first balloon ride, "approximately 20 seconds before the basket hit the ground, the pilot told the passengers to crouch below the basket top and bend their knees." She reported that she didn't know that "there was anything wrong; and didn't have any expectation of what to do for the landing until he said that." ## Aircraft - Registration: [N2814D](https://openairdocs.org/deregistered/N2814D-2000-04-25), registration cancelled 2000-04-25, S/N S66A-161 (OpenAirDocs) - Reported make and model: Raven S-66A - Registry model: [Raven Industries S-66A](https://openairdocs.org/model/raven-industries-s-66a) (registry code 7480612) (OpenAirDocs) - Category: Balloon - Serial number: S66A-161 - Airframe hours: 333 - Engines: unknown - Damage: No damage - Flight: Other work use, Part 91 - Registered owner: Arthur D. Zucht III - Airworthiness certificate: Standard, Normal - Last inspection: Annual, January 17, 1996, 3 hours before - Departed: NONE - Flight plan: Unknown ## Flight crew As NTSB recorded them. NTSB leaves out names. - Pilot; age 58; commercial; medical: unknown; flight hours: 277 total, 51 in this make and model, 3 in the last 90 days, 2 in the last 30 days ## Weather - Conditions: Visual (VMC), Day - Wind: 160° at 3 knots - Visibility: 10 statute miles - Lowest ceiling: none - Temperature: 75 °F, dew point 48 °F - Altimeter: 29.00 inHg - Observed at: SAT, 35 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 (OpenAirDocs). - [Accident 19960420039489A](https://openairdocs.org/incident/19960420039489A), Apr 20, 1996: Raven S66A, San Antonio, TX. Hard landing bounced and dragged 150FT prior stopping. Basket tipped. Passenger injured as others fell on her. From the NTSB's public API. Aircraft are matched to registry aircraft by N-number and event date, checked against the reported serial number, make and model; the registry's history has gaps, so older matches can be wrong. Compare the reported make and model. --- OpenAirDocs.org is an independent research project of [Contrail Labs](https://contraillabs.com/). It is not affiliated with the FAA or the NTSB. Source documents are U.S. government works in the public domain.