- Date
- August 27, 1993, 07:33 local (11:33 UTC)
- Place
- Niagara Falls, NY
- Injuries
- 1 serious, 2 uninjured
- Damage
- No damage
- Phase of flight
- Landing
- Aircraft
- N1192WCameron HAB-N90
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report September 13, 1994
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- FAA report
- 19930827031479A
- Case key
- 38647
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 inadequate bracing of the passenger for landing which resulted in a fall.
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 balloon pilot was conducting a normal landing in an open field. The pilot stated: 'I advised the [passengers] to brace themselves using the handles...the balloon touched down, slid up a small knoll...the basket slid a short distance before coming to a final stop. I checked my [passengers] and [one passenger] had broken her right leg.'
Factual narrative
On Friday, August 27, 1993, at 0733 eastern daylight time, a Cameron HAB-N90, N1192W, a free balloon, registered to James S. Suttle, and piloted by Penny L. Suttle, landed in a field in Niagara Falls, New York. The balloon was not damaged. The pilot and one passenger were not injured, but a second passenger received serious injures. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed, and no flight plan was filed. The flight was being conducted under 14 CFR 91.
The pilot was conducting a landing in an open field. In her report, the pilot stated:
All equipment was stowed and out of the way for landing. I advised the [passengers] to brace themselves using the inside handles, bend their knees slightly, face the direction of travel and watch the progress of the landing...the balloon touched down, slid up a small knoll, then touched down again after the knoll. The basket slid a short distance before coming to a final stop. I checked the [passengers] and [one] had a broken leg...The hot air balloon was not damaged.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N1192W
- Reported as
- Cameron HAB-N90
- Category
- Balloon
- Serial number
- 5871
- Airframe hours
- 40
- Engine
- unknown
- Damage
- No damage
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Registered owner
- James P. Suttle, Jr.
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Last inspection
- Annual · April 30, 1993 · 40 hours before
- Departed
- NONE
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
- 33
- Certificate
- Commercial
- Flight hours
- 192 total · 192 as pilot in command · 35 in the last 90 days · 15 in the last 30 days · 1 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 150° at 4 knots
- Visibility
- 20 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 68 °F, dew point 64 °F
- Altimeter
- 30.00 inHg
FAA reports on this event · 1
The FAA’s own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date.