- Date
- August 1, 1990, 20:10 local (Aug 2, 1990, 00:10 UTC)
- Place
- Binghamton, NY
- Injuries
- 1 serious, 1 uninjured
- Damage
- No damage
- Phase of flight
- Landing
- Aircraft
- N666RTFantasy Sky Promotions AX-7
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report December 14, 1992
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- FAA report
- 19900801044139A
- Case key
- 36740
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 failure to maintain control of the balloon during touchdown resulting in the basket of the balloon tipping. Factors to the accident were the slope of the terrain and the wind.
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 flight was a susquenango balloon club landowners appreciation event and originated at otsiningo park in Binghamton, new york. The flight was uneventful until the lanading. After one touch-and- go landing to show the passenger the effects of the landing process. The next field was selected to land in. The landing site was slightly up hill in a 40 acre field of cut green grass. The wind was 5-7 miles per hour. During the landing, the basket of the balloon tipped and the passenger fell out of the basket to the ground. The passenger was seriously injured.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N666RT
- Reported as
- Fantasy Sky Promotions AX-7
- Category
- Balloon
- Serial number
- 039
- Engine
- unknown
- Damage
- No damage
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Operator
- William Maines
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
- 52
- Certificate
- Commercial
- Airplane ratings
- Multi-engine land, Single-engine land
- Instrument ratings
- Airplane
- Medical
- Class 2, Valid Medical--w/ waivers/lim
- Flight hours
- 10,980 total · 28 in this make and model · 10,003 as pilot in command · 87 in the last 90 days · 25 in the last 30 days · 5 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 350° at 7 knots
- Visibility
- 25,000,000 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.