- Date
- October 5, 1996, 06:45 local (12:45 UTC)
- Place
- Albuquerque, NM
- Injuries
- 1 serious, 1 uninjured; on the ground: 1 serious
- Damage
- No damage
- Phase of flight
- Takeoff
- Aircraft
- N47AVAvian Balloon Skyhawk
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Dawn
- Status
- Completed · report May 23, 1997
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- FAA report
- 19961005043399A
- Case key
- 20087
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 ground crew member's failure keep clear from the gondola during take off. A factor was the pilot's failure to insure crew coordination during take off.
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
According to the pilot, the balloon was on a 'dawn patrol' demonstration. The crew members were holding to the gondola just prior to breaking ground. As the balloon became airborne, a crew member's hand became caught on one of the rope handles normally used by passengers. She was lifted up to about 20 feet AGL. Someone on the ground said, 'jump,' and she released the handle. Before impacting the ground, she contacted the side of another balloon that was being inflated. The pilot stated that he was not aware that the crew member was in distress.
Factual narrative
On October 5, 1996, at 0645 mountain daylight time, a ground crew member for an Avian Balloon Skyhawk, N47AV, sustained serious injuries while tethering the balloon during take off. The pilot, the sole occupant, was not injured and the balloon was not damaged. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed for the Title 14 CFR Part 91 personal flight near Albuquerque, New Mexico. A flight plan was not filed.
According to the pilot, the balloon was on a "dawn patrol" demonstration. The crew members were holding to the gondola just prior to breaking ground. As the balloon became airborne, a crew member's hand became caught on one of the rope handles normally used by passengers. She was lifted up to about 20 feet AGL. Someone on the ground said, "jump," and she released the handle. Before impacting the ground, she contacted the side of another balloon that was being inflated.
The pilot stated that he was not aware that the crew member was in distress.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N47AV
- Reported as
- Avian Balloon Skyhawk
- Category
- Balloon
- Serial number
- 47
- Airframe hours
- 405
- Engine
- unknown
- Damage
- No damage
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Registered owner
- Howard F. Kennedy
- Airworthiness certificate
- Special, Special flight (Special)
- Last inspection
- Annual · March 11, 1996 · 0 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
- 59
- Certificate
- Commercial
- Medical
- Unknown
- Flight hours
- 576 total · 400 in this make and model · 576 as pilot in command · 10 in the last 90 days · 2 in the last 30 days
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Dawn
- Wind
- 360° at 8 knots
- Visibility
- 15 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 50 °F
FAA reports on this event · 1
The FAA’s own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date.