- Date
- July 19, 2008, 07:45 local (11:45 UTC)
- Place
- Jamestown, RI
- Injuries
- 1 serious, 2 uninjured
- Damage
- No damage
- Phase of flight
- Landing
- Aircraft
- N2131YFirefly 7-15
- Defining event
- Landing: Hard landing
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report September 29, 2008
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- Parties
- FAA/FSDO
- FAA report
- 20080719840439A
- Case key
- 68470
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 excessive descent maneuver.
Findings · 1
NTSB’s coded findings. Those marked are part of the probable cause; the rest are factors or other findings. Under each, the cases with the same finding.
Sequence of events
The events NTSB coded, in order, by phase of flight. The defining event is the one that best describes the accident. Under each, the cases with the same event anywhere in their sequence.
Analysis
The balloon pilot was not able to land at the intended site because he did not descend quickly enough. He continued flying while searching for an alternate landing location. He located a suitable landing area and started another descent. He then observed electrical power lines off to the side and advised his two passengers to prepare for a hard landing. The pilot induced a rapid descent to avoid the powers lines and the balloon landed hard. During the hard landing, one of the passengers suffered a serious foot injury.
Factual narrative
The pilot of the Firefly 7-15 balloon stated that he was departing Richmond Airport (08R), West Kingston, Rhode Island, for the athletic field at the University of Rhode Island, where a balloon festival was taking place. After departing 08R with two passengers on a commercial sightseeing flight, he followed the path of several other balloons towards the athletic field. The pilot descended towards his intended landing target, but did not descend quickly enough and drifted past it to the south. He looked for alternate landing sites, but was unable to find one that was suitable. After crossing half of Narragansett Bay, and while running low on fuel, the pilot attempted to land in a small field in Jamestown. As he was descending he noticed power lines off to one side of the landing site. In order to avoid them, he descended quickly and instructed the passengers to bend their knees for impact. The balloon landed hard while avoiding the power lines. The balloon incurred no damage and one of the passengers suffered a serious foot injury.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N2131Y
- Reported as
- Firefly 7-15
- Category
- Balloon
- Serial number
- 72063-3-S
- Airframe hours
- 19
- Engine
- Damage
- No damage
- Flight
- Other work use · Part 91
- Registered owner
- Randolph Riley
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Last inspection
- Annual · September 1, 2007
- Departed
- 08R · West Kingston, RI
- Destination
- NONE · Jamestown, RI
- Airport
- OQU · Quonset State Airport
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
- 55
- Injuries
- None
- Certificate
- Commercial
- Last flight review
- August 1, 2007
- Flight hours
- 140 total · 18 in this make and model · 115 as pilot in command · 2 in the last 90 days · 1 in the last 30 days · 0 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 250° at 6 knots
- Visibility
- 3 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 77 °F, dew point 72 °F
- Altimeter
- 29.97 inHg
- Observed at
- WST, 6 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.