- Date
- September 29, 1990, 09:00 local (16:00 UTC)
- Place
- Vacaville, CA
- Injuries
- 1 serious, 8 uninjured
- Damage
- No damage
- Phase of flight
- Enroute
- Aircraft
- N90902Balloon Works Firefly 9
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report October 2, 1992
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- FAA report
- 19900929050179A
- Case key
- 26935
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 balloon's encounter with a sudden increase in wind speed accompained by a strong down draft beyond the compensation capability of the balloon.
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
According to the pilot, the two flights conducted earlier in the morning were normal with winds in the 4 mph range. On the accident flight, the winds suddenly increased from 4 to 12 mph. The pilot then said, 'instantly, without indication, a whirlwind caught the balloon and spun it 360 degrees; a downdraft occurred with a descent rate of 500 feet per minute.' The pilot further stated that he was unable to arrest the rate of descent and the balloon collided with a set of power lines, then the ground.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N90902
- Reported as
- Balloon Works Firefly 9
- Category
- Balloon
- Serial number
- F9-039
- Engine
- unknown
- Damage
- No damage
- Flight
- Part 91
- Registered owner
- Robert Barbarick
- 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
- 41
- Certificate
- Commercial
- Flight hours
- 3,225 total · 450 in this make and model · 218 in the last 90 days · 110 in the last 30 days · 3 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 340° at 18 knots, gusting 22
- Visibility
- 30 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 79 °F, dew point -0 °F
FAA reports on this event · 1
The FAA’s own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date.