- Date
- April 13, 1997, 18:53 local (Apr 14, 1997, 01:53 UTC)
- Place
- San Diego, CA
- Injuries
- 3 serious
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Landing
- Aircraft
- N380PHead Balloons AX8-88
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report May 4, 1998
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- FAA report
- 19970413005829A
- Case key
- 29772
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 decision to increase sink rate to avoid flying into an obstacle with insufficient altitude remaining to reduce the sink rate prior to impact with the ground.
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 of the hot air balloon intentionally induced a high sink rate to avoid power lines with insufficient altitude remaining to return to a nominal sink rate prior to impact with the ground. All occupants were ejected from the basket, and the balloon then drifted away until it was brought to rest by contact with some nearby power lines.
Factual narrative
On April 13, 1997 at 1853 hours Pacific daylight time, a Head AX8-88, hot air balloon, N380P, impacted the ground with a high rate of sink approximately 8 statute miles east of Gillespie Field, San Diego, California. The balloon was owned and operated by the pilot for the local area personal flight. The balloon sustained substantial damage and the pilot and two passengers sustained serious injuries. There was no flight plan filed and visual meteorological conditions prevailed. The flight originated approximately 5 statute miles northeast of Spring Valley for a planned 1-hour flight.
Two witnesses stated that they observed the balloon hit the ground with what they thought was a high sink rate and then become airborne again for a short time before recontacting the ground. At the second ground impact, the witnesses saw three persons ejected from the crew basket. The balloon was then observed to drift away until it was brought to rest by contact with some nearby power lines.
The pilot stated in a verbal pilot report that he had intentionally increased the balloon's sink rate to avoid drifting into some power lines which lay ahead, but did not have sufficient altitude remaining to return to a nominal sink rate prior to impact with the ground.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N380P
- Reported as
- Head Balloons AX8-88
- Category
- Balloon
- Serial number
- 207
- Engine
- unknown
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Registered owner
- Massie R. Holland, II
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Departed
- Spring Valley, 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
- 46
- Certificate
- Private
- Medical
- Unknown, Unknown
- Flight hours
- 40 total · 40 in this make and model · 25 as pilot in command · 3 in the last 90 days · 1 in the last 30 days · 1 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 265° at 4 knots
- Visibility
- 30 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 63 °F, dew point 28 °F
- Altimeter
- 30.00 inHg
- Observed at
- KSE, 10 nm away
FAA reports on this event · 1
The FAA’s own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date.