- Date
- May 2, 1990, 07:40 local (14:40 UTC)
- Place
- Napa, CA
- Injuries
- 1 serious, 4 uninjured
- Damage
- No damage
- Phase of flight
- Enroute
- Aircraft
- N9112RThunder and Colt AX9-140
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report October 2, 1992
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- FAA report
- 19900502018459A
- Case key
- 26830
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 pilot's improper flare technique which resulted in a hard landing. A factor in the accident was the sudden appearance of a high wind condition.
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 pilot reported that when the flight began, the local surface wind was not over 3 mph. However, as the flight progressed, he noted that the wind speed was increasing and he elected to terminate the flight. The pilot said that when he touched down the surface wind had increased to between 8 and 12 mph. The baloon landed hard, bounced 30 to 40 feet up in the air, and then landed hard again.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N9112R
- Reported as
- Thunder and Colt AX9-140
- Category
- Balloon
- Serial number
- 996
- Engine
- unknown
- Damage
- No damage
- Flight
- Part 91
- Registered owner
- Balloon Aviation Of Napa
- Departed
- NONE
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
- 32
- Certificate
- Commercial
- Flight hours
- 661 total · 660 in this make and model · 656 as pilot in command · 27 in the last 90 days · 16 in the last 30 days · 2 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Visibility
- 20 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 70 °F, dew point 64 °F
FAA reports on this event · 1
The FAA’s own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date.
Other investigations on N9112R · 1
Matched to the same aircraft by N-number and date.