- Date
- May 17, 1998, 08:30 local (14:30 UTC)
- Place
- Longmont, CO
- Injuries
- 1 serious, 1 uninjured
- Damage
- No damage
- Phase of flight
- Landing
- Aircraft
- N1527MBalloon Works Firefly 7-B
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report December 1, 1999
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- FAA report
- 19980517021179A
- Case key
- 20616
From the NTSB’s public API. By law, NTSB reports can’t be used as evidence in lawsuits over the accident.
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Probable cause
The pilot's failure to properly position his foot for a high wind landing. Factors were high winds and windshear.
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 landing approach, the winds were from the south at 5 to 7 knots. At 30 to 40 feet above the ground, the pilot encountered wind shear out of the east at 30 to 35 knots, and the intended landing was aborted. The pilot climbed to 150 agl and set up for a high wind landing. Upon touchdown, the pilot's foot was caught between the wicker siding and the solid floor of the basket, and the pilot's ankle was broken. According to the pilot, the accident would not have occurred had he not improperly placed his foot between the wicket basket and the floor plate of the balloon at the time the balloon impacted the ground.
Factual narrative
On May 17, 1998, approximately 0830 mountain daylight time, a Balloon Works Firefly 7-B balloon, N1527M, was not damaged during landing near Longmont, Colorado. The private pilot received serious injuries and his one passenger was uninjured. The balloon was owned and being operated by the pilot under Title 14 CFR Part 91. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed for the personal cross-country flight that originated from a private field near Twin Lakes, Colorado, approximately one hour before the accident, and no flight plan was filed.
According to the pilot, the winds were from the south at 5 to 7 knots during the landing approach. At 30 to 40 feet above the ground, the balloon "encountered severe wind shear out of the east at 30 to 35 knots." The intended landing was aborted, and he climbed to 150 feet agl to set up for a high wind landing. The second landing "was typical for high wind conditions," but when the balloon landed, the pilot's foot was caught between the wicker siding and the solid floor of the basket. The pilot's ankle was broken when the balloon impacted the ground. From the point of initial impact to the balloon's final resting was 16 feet.
The pilot stated in a telephone interview following the accident that the mishap would not have occurred had he not improperly placed his foot between the wicket basket and the floor plate of the balloon at the time the balloon impacted the ground.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N1527M
- Reported as
- Balloon Works Firefly 7-B (FIREFLY 7-)
- Category
- Balloon
- Serial number
- 10987
- Airframe hours
- 223
- Engine
- unknown
- Damage
- No damage
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Registered owner
- Keith R. Hanson
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Last inspection
- Annual · July 31, 1997 · 16 hours before
- Departed
- NONE · Twin Lakes, CO
- Destination
- NONE · 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
- Private
- Medical
- Unknown, Unknown
- Flight hours
- 61 total · 49 in this make and model · 20 as pilot in command · 5 in the last 90 days · 4 in the last 30 days · 1 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 190° at 7 knots
- Visibility
- 10 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 57 °F, dew point 37 °F
- Altimeter
- 29.00 inHg
- Observed at
- FNL, 19 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.