- Date
- February 22, 1987, 10:30 local (17:30 UTC)
- Place
- Tucson, AZ
- Injuries
- 1 serious, 1 minor, 1 uninjured
- Damage
- No damage
- Phase of flight
- Enroute
- Aircraft
- N4261RRaven S-55A
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report March 21, 1988
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- FAA report
- 19870222003109A
- Case key
- 25524
From the NTSB’s public API. By law, NTSB reports can’t be used as evidence in lawsuits over the accident.
On this page
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 a pleasure flight, the pilot reported that upon take-off, the wind was calm. While in-flight the wind increased and the pilot prepared for a high wind landing. The balloon touched-down hard and hit a bush. The pilot and one passenger were ejected from the gondola. The balloon became airborne then touched-down a second time approximately 50 yards from the initial impact. The pilot's flt time was not reported/not available.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N4261R
- Reported as
- Raven S-55A
- Category
- Balloon
- Serial number
- S-55A-1052
- Airframe hours
- 180
- Engine
- unknown
- Damage
- No damage
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Registered owner
- Pitrat, Calude H.
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Last inspection
- Annual · August 11, 1986 · 42 hours before
- Departed
- Tucson, AZ
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
- 57
- Certificate
- Commercial
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 80° at 11 knots, gusting 20
- Visibility
- 50 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 52 °F, dew point 25 °F
- Altimeter
- 30.00 inHg
- Observed at
- TUS
FAA reports on this event · 1
The FAA’s own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date.