- Date
- July 5, 1996, 07:31 local (13:31 UTC)
- Place
- Gunnison, CO
- Injuries
- 3 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Landing
- Aircraft
- N4014KRaven Ralley RX7
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report September 24, 1996
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- FAA report
- 19960705046979A
- Case key
- 19908
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 inadequate weather evaluation. A factor was the high wind.
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
During the second passenger load, on an air tour flight, the flight encountered high winds. The pilot 'ripped out' the balloon at 15 to 20 feet above ground level and told the passengers to hang on. Initially the basket was dragged across the ground but became airborne and the second touchdown was hard causing damage to the basket and support structure.
Factual narrative
On July 5, 1996, at 0731 mountain daylight time, a Raven, Ralley RX7 Balloon, N4014K, made a hard landing near Gunnison, Colorado. The commercial pilot and two passengers were not injured and the balloon sustained substantial damage. The flight was an air tour flight operating under Title 14 CFR Part 91 and no flight plan was filed. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed.
According to the pilot, she flew one tour and exchanged passengers. On the second part of the flight the winds increased to approximately 30 miles per hour. The pilot said she selected a landing area, told the passengers to hold on, and "ripped out" the balloon at 15 to 20 feet above ground level (agl). She said touch down was not hard and the basket was being dragged across the ground. During this excursion, the balloon became airborne to about 30 feet agl and the landing following this was hard crushing the floor of the basket, bending the uprights, and shearing the retention pins.
Reported weather from the Gunnison AWOS taken approximately 4 minutes after the accident is detailed under Weather Information in this document. At the time, the reported wind at the Gunnison Airport, located approximately 3 miles southeast of the accident site, was from 360 degrees magnetic at 6 knots.
The pilot operator report (NTSB Form 6120.1/2) is attached and provides no information on the passengers or maintenance on the balloon. The accident was not reported until a week following the occurrence when the operator took the balloon to a repair station.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N4014K
- Reported as
- Raven Ralley RX7
- Category
- Balloon
- Serial number
- RX7-275
- Engine
- unknown
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Part 91
- Registered owner
- Patricia J. Brake
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Departed
- GUC · Gunnison, CO
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
- Certificate
- Commercial
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 360° at 6 knots
- Visibility
- 10 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 59 °F, dew point 48 °F
- Altimeter
- 30.00 inHg
- Observed at
- GUC, 3 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.