- Date
- August 3, 2020, 08:10 local (14:10 UTC)
- Place
- Jackson, WY
- Injuries
- 1 serious, 1 minor, 1 uninjured
- Damage
- Minor damage
- Phase of flight
- Enroute
- Aircraft
- N45303Head AX8 88
- Defining event
- Enroute-change of cruise level: Other weather encounter
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- Investigation class
- Class 4 - Basic report with no Prelim publish
- NTSB office
- Western Pacific Region
- Parties
- FAA
- FAA report
- 20200803015529A
- Case key
- 101772
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 balloon pilot’s inability to maintain altitude during un-forecasted weather, which resulted in a hard landing.
Findings · 4
NTSB’s coded findings. Those marked are part of the probable cause; the rest are factors or other findings. Under each, the cases with the same finding.
Sequence of events
The events NTSB coded, in order, by phase of flight. The defining event is the one that best describes the accident. Under each, the cases with the same event anywhere in their sequence.
Analysis
The balloon pilot reported that after about 50 minutes of uneventful flying, the wind increased to about 11 miles per hour (mph) while traveling to the southwest. Immediately after, the wind abruptly shifted 180º and increased to about 20 miles per hour. The balloon descended and impacted terrain, slid about 30 yards, and came to rest on its side. The balloon sustained minor damaged, and a passenger sustained a serious broken ankle injury. The weather study revealed that the weather encountered was not forecasted.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N45303
- Reported as
- Head AX8 88 (No Series)
- Category
- Balloon
- Serial number
- 154
- Built
- 1988
- Airframe hours
- 141
- Engine
- Cameron Ultra Double, unknown
- Damage
- Minor damage
- Flight
- Business · Part 91
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Balloon
- Last inspection
- Annual · May 20, 2020
- Departed
- Jackson, WY
- Equipment
- 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
- 76
- Injuries
- None
- Certificates
- Private, Commercial
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land
- Last flight review
- May 25, 2020
- Seat
- None
- Flight hours
- 5,195 total · 20 in this make and model · 20 in the last 90 days · 15 in the last 30 days · 1 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Visibility
- 10 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- 14,000 ft broken
- Temperature
- 64 °F, dew point 43 °F
- Observed at
- KJAC, 4 nm away
Docket · 3
The files NTSB released with the investigation on July 9, 2021, on NTSB’s docket system: statements, records, photos and specialists’ reports. 7.5 MB in all.
FAA reports on this event · 1
The FAA’s own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date.