- Date
- November 14, 2016, 08:50 local (16:50 UTC)
- Place
- Winters, CA
- Injuries
- 1 serious, 14 uninjured
- Damage
- No damage
- Phase of flight
- Standing
- Aircraft
- N69520Cameron A315
- Defining event
- Standing: Loss of control on ground
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report February 6, 2017
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- NTSB office
- General Aviation Accidents
- Parties
- FAA
- Case key
- 94444
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 passenger's improper egress from the balloon basket, which resulted in a serious injury.
Findings · 4
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
The pilot of a balloon reported that while aloft he observed the wind increase to about 10 miles per hour, so he briefed his passengers on how to brace for a "high wind landing" and possible basket tip-over. The pilot further reported that he descended to about 3 feet above ground, and once over the target landing area he "shut off [the] fuel tanks and burners then pulled the smart vent (rapid deflation valve)." Subsequently, on touch down the basket bounced once and skidded about 15 to 20 yards before stopping with the basket tipping over on its side. The pilot reported that he secured the basket and while the passengers were exiting the basket, his ground crew informed him that a passenger had injured her ankle. According to the pilot, the injured passenger did not speak English as her first language and he was unsure if she braced appropriately for the landing or if she sustained the serious injury while exiting the basket. The pilot reported that another passenger informed him that the passenger sustained the injury while she was exiting the basket. The pilot did not report any preaccident mechanical malfunctions or failures with the balloon that would have precluded normal operation.
Factual narrative
The pilot of a balloon reported that while aloft he observed the wind increase to about 10 miles per hour, so he briefed his passengers on how to brace for a "high wind landing" and possible basket tip-over. The pilot further reported that he descended to about 3 feet above ground, and once over the target landing area he "shut off [the] fuel tanks and burners then pulled the smart vent (rapid deflation valve)." Subsequently, on touch down the basket bounced once and skidded about 15 to 20 yards before stopping with the basket tipping over on its side. The pilot reported that he secured the basket and while the passengers were exiting the basket, his ground crew informed him that a passenger had injured her ankle. According to the pilot, the injured passenger did not speak English as her first language and he was unsure if she braced appropriately for the landing or if she sustained the serious injury while exiting the basket. The pilot reported that another passenger informed him that the passenger sustained the injury while she was exiting the basket. The pilot did not report any preaccident mechanical malfunctions or failures with the balloon that would have precluded normal operation.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N69520
- Reported as
- Cameron A315 (NO SERIES)
- Category
- Balloon
- Serial number
- 6742
- Built
- 2014
- Airframe hours
- 358.5
- Engine
- unknown
- Damage
- No damage
- Flight
- Aerial observation · Part 91
- Operator
- Napa Valley Balloons Inc.
- Registered owner
- Napa Valley Balloons Inc.
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Balloon
- Last inspection
- 100 hour · July 26, 2016
- Departed
- DWA · Davis/Woodland/Winters, CA
- Destination
- DWA · Davis/Woodland/Winters, CA
- Airport
- DWA · Yolo County
- 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
- 61
- Injuries
- None
- Certificate
- Commercial
- Last flight review
- May 27, 2015
- Seat
- Center
- Restraint
- None
- Flight hours
- 8,721 total · 8,688 as pilot in command · 81 in the last 90 days · 20 in the last 30 days · 1 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 10° at 5 knots
- Visibility
- 9 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Altimeter
- 30.21 inHg
- Observed at
- KEDU, 8 nm away
Docket · 2
The files NTSB released with the investigation on January 12, 2017, on NTSB’s docket system: statements, records, photos and specialists’ reports. 1.3 MB in all.