# NTSB WPR19LA257: Kubicek BB60, N505CZ, Goodsprings, NV, September 12, 2019

- Type: NTSB accident investigation
- Classification: Accident · Serious injuries · Class 3 · Limited · Final report
- Date: September 12, 2019, 09:30 local (16:30 UTC)
- Place: Goodsprings, NV
- Coordinates: 35.908054, -115.43499 (estimated)
- Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=35.9081&lon=-115.4350&mi=10
- Phase of flight: [Landing](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-phases/550) (OpenAirDocs' grouping)
- Defining event: [Landing: Hard landing](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/092)
- Highest injury: Serious injuries
- Injuries: 3 serious, 6 minor
- Status: Completed
- Report: Approved by Office Director
- Investigation class: Class 3
- NTSB office: Western Pacific Region
- Parties: Federal Aviation Administration
- NTSB case key (mKey): 100249
- NTSB case page: https://web.ntsb.gov/investigations/?ntsbnumber=WPR19LA257
- NTSB report (PDF, downloads): https://data.ntsb.gov/carol-repgen/api/Aviation/ReportMain/GenerateNewestReport/100249/pdf
- NTSB docket: https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket?ProjectID=100249
- Page: https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/WPR19LA257

## Probable cause

The pilot's failure to maintain the proper descent rate during the approach to landing, which resulted in a hard landing and serious injuries to the pilot and two passengers.

## Findings

NTSB's coded findings; those marked are part of the probable cause.

- [Performance/control parameters: descent rate](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-findings/01062037): Aircraft › Aircraft oper/perf/capability · Not attained/maintained (probable cause); cases with it: [Balony Kubicek Spol Sro BB60Z, 2 cases](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-findings/01062037/cases.md?model=1370507), [All aircraft, 242 cases](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-findings/01062037/cases.md)
- [Use of equip/info: aircraft control](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-findings/02063040): Personnel issues › Task performance · Pilot (probable cause); cases with it: [Balony Kubicek Spol Sro BB60Z, 2 cases](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-findings/02063040/cases.md?model=1370507), [All aircraft, 9,295 cases](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-findings/02063040/cases.md)

## Sequence of events

The events NTSB coded, in order, by phase of flight. The defining event best describes what happened.

- [Landing: Hard landing](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/092) (defining event); cases with it: [Balony Kubicek Spol Sro BB60Z, 2 cases](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/092/sequence.md?model=1370507), [All aircraft, 2,102 cases](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/092/sequence.md)

## Analysis

The pilot stated that, after about 1 hour into the flight, the wind changed, and the balloon’s direction shifted south toward terrain that was not suitable for a balloon landing. The pilot then aligned the balloon with a more suitable landing location and began the descent. As the balloon neared the surface, the wind increased, and the pilot briefed the passengers of a potential high-wind landing. He pulled the vent line, but the balloon did not deflate as he expected. The balloon landed hard, and the pilot and several passengers were ejected from the basket. Afterward, the balloon flew at a low level for about 0.5 mile, and the remaining three passengers were ejected from the basket. The balloon came to rest on a hillside in remote desert terrain. The pilot reported no preimpact mechanical malfunctions or failures that would have precluded normal operation of the balloon.

## Factual narrative

On September 12, 2019, about 0930 Pacific daylight time, a Kubicek BB60Z balloon, N505CZ, was involved in an accident near Goodsprings, Nevada. The pilot and two passengers sustained serious injuries. the remaining six passengers sustained minor injuries, and the balloon sustained substantial damage. The balloon was operated as a Title 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91 personal flight. The pilot stated that, after about 1 hour into the flight, he planned to touch down near a water basin. When the balloon was about 0.5 mile away from the intended landing location, the wind changed, and the balloon’s direction shifted south toward terrain that the pilot described as “unfriendly” for a balloon landing. The pilot ascended the balloon to find a different wind direction. The balloon continued over a ridge, and the pilot then aligned the balloon with a dirt road and began the descent. As the balloon neared the surface, the wind increased, and the pilot briefed the passengers about a potential high-wind landing. He pulled the vent line, but the balloon did not deflate as he expected. The balloon landed hard, and the pilot reported that he was ejected from the basket. The Federal Aviation Administration inspector responding to this accident stated five occupants in addition to the pilot were ejected from the basket after the hard landing. Afterward, the balloon flew at a low level for about 0.5 mile, and the remaining three passengers were ejected from the basket. The balloon came to rest on a hillside in remote desert terrain located about 17 miles southwest of Las Vegas. The pilot reported no preimpact mechanical malfunctions or failures that would have precluded normal operation of the balloon.

## Aircraft

- Registration: [N505CZ](https://openairdocs.org/aircraft/N505CZ), registered now, S/N 1207, built 2018 (OpenAirDocs)
- Reported make and model: Kubicek BB60 (Z)
- Registry model: [Balony Kubicek Spol Sro BB60Z](https://openairdocs.org/model/balony-kubicek-spol-sro-bb60z) (registry code 1370507) (OpenAirDocs)
- Registry engine: [Amateur-built UNKNOWN ENG](https://openairdocs.org/engine/amateur-built-unknown-eng) (registry code 99999) (OpenAirDocs)
- Category: Balloon
- Serial number: 1207
- Year built: 2018
- Damage: Substantial damage
- Flight: Aerial observation, Part 91
- Operator: Vegas Hot Air Sin City Balloon Rides
- Registered owner: Grimes Douglas
- Airworthiness certificate: Standard, Balloon
- Departed: Las Vegas, NV
- Destination: Las Vegas, NV
- Equipment: None

## Flight crew

As NTSB recorded them. NTSB leaves out names.

- Pilot; age 67; injuries: minor; flight instructor, commercial; last flight review January 11, 2019; seat: none; restraint: none; flight hours: 2,089 total, 2,023 as pilot in command, 38 in the last 90 days, 20 in the last 30 days

## Weather

- Conditions: Visual (VMC), Dawn
- Wind: calm
- Visibility: 10 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling: none
- Temperature: 75 °F, dew point 34 °F
- Altimeter: 27.89 inHg
- Observed at: KHND, 15 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 (OpenAirDocs).

- [Accident 20190912013079A](https://openairdocs.org/incident/20190912013079A), Sep 12, 2019: Balony Kubicek Spol Sro BB60Z, Good Springs, NV, Substantial damage. On September 12, 2019, at approximately 0924 PST, the Nevada flight standards district office received notification of a sightseeing hot air balloon crash…

## Docket (2 files)

The files NTSB released with the investigation on May 25, 2022, on NTSB's docket system: https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket?ProjectID=100249. 2.1 MB in all.

- Pilot/operator aircraft accident report, NTSB form 6120.1 (item 1, PDF, 9 pages, 1.7 MB): https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket/Document/docBLOB?ID=12310765&FileExtension=pdf&FileName=Z%20-%20Attachment%2001%20-%206120_Redacted-Rel.pdf
- Photograph courtesy of FAA (item 2, PDF, 1 page, 414 KB): https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket/Document/docBLOB?ID=12310467&FileExtension=pdf&FileName=Z-%20Attachment%2002%20-Photos-Rel.pdf

From the NTSB's public API. Aircraft are matched to registry aircraft by N-number and event date, checked against the reported serial number, make and model; the registry's history has gaps, so older matches can be wrong. Compare the reported make and model.

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