- Date
- January 24, 1993, 09:15 local (17:15 UTC)
- Place
- San Juan Bautis, CA
- Injuries
- 2 serious, 1 uninjured
- Damage
- No damage
- Phase of flight
- Landing
- Aircraft
- N7000JEagle C-7
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report October 25, 1993
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- FAA report
- 19930124001059A
- Case key
- 27914
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 inadequate inflight planning and the unfavorable winds.
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
In his written statement, the pilot reported that he and his two passengers lifted off at 0800 hours for a sight seeing flight. He said the winds were calm at the time of lift off but about an hour later when he attempted to land, the winds increased in velocity. He said that due to flooded areas, obstructions, and 'brisk' ground winds, he aborted several landing attempts. The pilot found a clear, open and dry landing area. On the first landing attempt, the basket tipped and one passenger fell partially out of the basket. He and the other passenger pulled the passenger back in the basket. The pilot said the balloon then lifted over a fence, collided with the ground, and tipped again. The two passengers fell out of the basket and were dragged by the balloon until it stopped. The pilot said the winds were 10 miles per hour gusting to 15 miles per hour when he was attempting to land.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N7000J
- Reported as
- Eagle C-7
- Category
- Balloon
- Serial number
- E81710
- Airframe hours
- 598
- Engine
- unknown
- Damage
- No damage
- Flight
- Business · Part 91
- Operator
- Myron Farnham
- Registered owner
- Myron Farnham
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Last inspection
- Annual · February 12, 1992 · 62 hours before
- Departed
- NONE · Morgan Hill, CA
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
- 62
- Certificate
- Commercial
- Flight hours
- 2,200 as pilot in command · 21 in the last 90 days · 2 in the last 30 days · 1 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 360° at 10 knots, gusting 15
- Visibility
- 30 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 50 °F
FAA reports on this event · 1
The FAA’s own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date.