- Date
- May 14, 1988, 19:05 local (23:05 UTC)
- Place
- Red Creek, NY
- Injuries
- 1 serious, 2 uninjured; on the ground: 1 serious
- Damage
- No damage
- Phase of flight
- Initial climb
- Aircraft
- N1502KBalloon Works Firefly 7
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report December 29, 1989
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- FAA report
- 19880514022829A
- Case key
- 36149
From the NTSB’s public API. By law, NTSB reports can’t be used as evidence in lawsuits over the accident.
On this page
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
While the pilot was waiting for liftoff, three ground crewmen were sitting on the basket holding the balloon down. As the pilot prepared for liftoff, he announced that he was ready for liftoff and untied the rope. As the balloon reached an altitude of about 6-10 feet, one of the ground crewman jumped off and fell receiving serious injuries. The ground crewman was waiting for specific instructions from the pilot. The pilot said he thought the ground crewman was aware of the liftoff. The pilot and ground crewman had not worked together before.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N1502K
- Reported as
- Balloon Works Firefly 7
- Category
- Balloon
- Serial number
- 11123
- Airframe hours
- 538
- Engine
- unknown
- Damage
- No damage
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Operator
- David J. Longeill
- Registered owner
- David Longeill
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Last inspection
- Annual · January 17, 1988 · 3 hours before
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
- 44
- Certificate
- Commercial
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land
- Flight hours
- 257 total · 78 in this make and model · 201 as pilot in command · 3 in the last 90 days
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 315° at 5 knots
- Visibility
- 15 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 63 °F
FAA reports on this event · 1
The FAA’s own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date.