- Date
- September 24, 2005, 09:05 local (13:05 UTC)
- Place
- Louisville, KY
- Injuries
- 1 serious, 2 uninjured; on the ground: 1 serious
- Damage
- No damage
- Phase of flight
- Landing
- Aircraft
- N4024PLindstrand Balloons 77A
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report January 31, 2006
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- FAA report
- 20050924027529A
- Case key
- 62545
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 crewman's failure to release the basket of the balloon when it resumed flight during the landing phase. A factor in the accident was the wet grass at the landing site.
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
The ground crewman grabbed onto the basket of the balloon upon landing. As she did so, her feet slipped from under her on the wet grass, and the balloon lifted into the air. When the basket of the balloon reached about 8 feet above the ground, the crewman lost her grip, fell to the ground, and was seriously injured. The crewman stated that she held onto the basket only because she had lost her footing.
Factual narrative
On September 24, 2005, at 0905 eastern daylight time, a Lindstrand 77A hot air balloon was undamaged during landing at Bowman Field Airport (LOU), Louisville, Kentucky. The certificated commercial pilot and the passenger were not injured, and a ground crewman was seriously injured. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed, and no flight plan was filed for the flight that originated from Bowman Airport. The personal flight was conducted under 14 CFR Part 91.
A Federal Aviation Administration aviation safety inspector witnessed the accident and provided a statement. According to the inspector, the crewman grabbed onto the basket of the balloon upon landing. As she did so, her feet slipped from under her on the wet grass, and the balloon lifted into the air.
When the basket of the balloon reached about 8 feet above the ground, the crewman lost her grip, and fell to the ground, where she broke her wrist and fractured her pelvis.
The inspector described the balloon landing as "normal." He said that the crewman was experienced, and that she knew to release a balloon should it resume flight during a landing. He added that the ground crewman stated that she held onto the basket only because she had lost her footing.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N4024P
- Reported as
- Lindstrand Balloons 77A
- Category
- Balloon
- Serial number
- 5044
- Engine
- Damage
- No damage
- Flight
- Aerial observation · Part 91
- Registered owner
- Randy C. Oates
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Departed
- LOU · Louisville, KY
- Destination
- LOU
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
- Injuries
- None
- Certificate
- Commercial
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land
- Instrument ratings
- Airplane
- Medical
- Class 2
- Flight hours
- 3,149 total · 100 in this make and model · 48 in the last 90 days · 9 in the last 30 days
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
FAA reports on this event · 1
The FAA’s own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date.