- Date
- October 8, 2015, 08:30 local (14:30 UTC)
- Place
- Albuquerque, NM
- Injuries
- 1 serious, 14 uninjured
- Damage
- No damage
- Phase of flight
- Landing
- Aircraft
- N106KBKubicek BB
- Defining event
- Landing: Hard landing
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report December 17, 2015
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- NTSB office
- General Aviation Accidents
- Parties
- FAA
- FAA report
- 20151008019659A
- Case key
- 92179
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
A hard landing which resulted in serious injury to a passenger.
Findings · 3
NTSB’s coded findings. Those marked are part of the probable cause; the rest are factors or other findings. Under each, the cases with the same finding.
Sequence of events
The events NTSB coded, in order, by phase of flight. The defining event is the one that best describes the accident. Under each, the cases with the same event anywhere in their sequence.
Analysis
According to the pilot, after diverting to an alternate landing area due to adverse wind conditions, the pilot maneuvered the balloon to land on a nearby soccer field. The pilot stated that he engaged the smart vent, touched down, bounced, and the balloon touched down a second time and came to a halt. He reported that during the second touchdown, a passenger's knee struck the calf of a fellow passenger, and that the passenger who was struck sustained a broken fibula. No further injuries resulted and damage was not sustained to any portion of the balloon. The pilot reported that there were no mechanical failures or anomalies prior to or during the flight that would have prevented normal flight operation.
Factual narrative
According to the pilot, after diverting to an alternate landing area due to adverse wind conditions, the pilot maneuvered the balloon to land on a nearby soccer field. The pilot stated that he engaged the smart vent, touched down, bounced, and the balloon touched down a second time and came to a halt. He reported that during the second touchdown, a passenger's knee struck the calf of a fellow passenger, and that the passenger who was struck sustained a broken fibula. No further injuries resulted and damage was not sustained to any portion of the balloon. The pilot reported that there were no mechanical failures or anomalies prior to or during the flight that would have prevented normal flight operation.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N106KB
- Reported as
- Kubicek BB (100Z)
- Category
- Balloon
- Serial number
- 1064
- Built
- 2014
- Airframe hours
- 119
- Engine
- 4 Burner Type Engines, none
- Damage
- No damage
- Flight
- Other work use · Part 91
- Operator
- Philip C. Brandt
- Registered owner
- Amazing Adventures Inc
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Departed
- Albuquerque, NM
- Destination
- Albuquerque, NM
- Equipment
- Handheld GPS
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
- 47
- Injuries
- None
- Certificate
- Commercial
- Last flight review
- September 1, 2014
- Seat
- Center
- Restraint
- None
- Flight hours
- 7,100 total · 66 in this make and model · 7,010 as pilot in command · 5 in the last 90 days
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 30° at 5 knots
- Visibility
- 10 statute miles
- Temperature
- 52 °F, dew point 45 °F
- Altimeter
- 30.23 inHg
- Observed at
- ABQ, 9 nm away
Docket · 1
The files NTSB released with the investigation on December 14, 2015, on NTSB’s docket system: statements, records, photos and specialists’ reports. 3.6 MB in all.
FAA reports on this event · 1
The FAA’s own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date.