- Date
- July 26, 1987, 06:30 local (12:30 UTC)
- Place
- Tucson, AZ
- Injuries
- 3 serious, 4 minor
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Landing
- Aircraft
- N43995Raven S77A
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report October 6, 1988
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- FAA report
- 19870726038269A
- Case key
- 25652
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 local sightseeing balloon flight, the plt was making a landing at an open construction site. The gondola touched down then skipped three times and came to rest on the edge of a ledge aprx 10 ft in height. The balloon tipped over the edge and collided with the terrain and misc construction materials below. The injuries to the occupants were sustained from the fall off the ledge when the balloon tipped over. The plts flt time was not available except 1176 hrs reported as lighter than air.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N43995
- Reported as
- Raven S77A
- Category
- Balloon
- Serial number
- S77A112
- Airframe hours
- 209
- Engine
- unknown
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Business · Part 91
- Operator
- Fendler, Joseph
- Registered owner
- Fendler, Joseph
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Last inspection
- Annual · December 21, 1986
- 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
- 42
- Certificate
- Commercial
- Flight hours
- 1,176 total
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 140° at 9 knots
- Visibility
- 50 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 79 °F, dew point 63 °F
- Altimeter
- 29.00 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.