- Date
- April 27, 1989, 19:15 local (23:15 UTC)
- Place
- Soleburg, PA
- Injuries
- 1 serious, 2 minor, 1 uninjured
- Damage
- No damage
- Phase of flight
- Landing
- Aircraft
- N4022QAdams Unknown
- Weather
- Day
- Status
- Completed · report May 22, 1990
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- FAA report
- 19890427017279A
- Case key
- 36407
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 weather evaluation which resulted in delaying the precautionary landing. Factors contributing to the accident included high winds and the lack of restraining devices inside the basket to help the occupants remain inside.
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 said that at takeoff the wind was calm; however, after about 45 minutes of flight, the wind increased so he attempted to land the balloon in the nearest acceptable landing area. The wind was about 15 to 18 knots at the time of the landing. The pilot said that the basket fell over and a passenger fell out. The balloon then went airborne again due to the loss of weight and relanded, hitting the passenger with the basket. The basket contained no restraining devices to help the occupants remain inside.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N4022Q
- Reported as
- Adams Unknown
- Category
- Balloon
- Serial number
- 148
- Engine
- unknown
- Damage
- No damage
- Flight
- Business · Part 91
- Operator
- Robert Mueller
- Registered owner
- Festival Flights, Inc.
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Departed
- Readington, NJ
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
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land
- Medical
- Unknown, Unknown
- Flight hours
- 579 total · 124 in this make and model · 2 in the last 90 days · 2 in the last 30 days · 1 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Day
- Wind
- 360° at 18 knots
- Visibility
- 20 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- -0 °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.