- Date
- September 4, 2022, 07:15 local (13:15 UTC)
- Place
- Las Cruces, NM · Mayfield High School
- Injuries
- 1 serious, 2 uninjured
- Damage
- No damage
- Phase of flight
- Landing
- Aircraft
- N7067FFirefly Balloons Firefly 8B-15
- Defining event
- Landing: Hard landing
- 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
- Case key
- 106058
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 the proper descent rate during the balloon’s approach to landing, which resulted in a hard landing and serious passenger injury.
Findings · 3
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 establishing level flight at 300 feet above ground level, he initiated an approach for landing, with a 200 feet per minute rate of descent. The balloon landed hard and bounced three times. The balloon was undamaged, but a passenger sustained serious leg and rib injuries. The pilot of the balloon reported that the technique of bending the knees upon landing was omitted in his passenger briefing. The pilot reported that there were no preaccident mechanical malfunctions or failures with the balloon that would have precluded normal operation.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N7067F
- Reported as
- Firefly Balloons Firefly 8B-15
- Category
- Balloon
- Serial number
- FB8-566
- Built
- 1998
- Airframe hours
- 360
- Damage
- No damage
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Balloon
- Last inspection
- Annual · September 23, 2021
- Departed
- Las Cruces, NM
- Destination
- Las Cruces, NM
- Airport
- N/A · N/A
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
- 40
- Injuries
- None
- Certificate
- Commercial
- Last flight review
- September 25, 2021
- Restraint
- None
- Flight hours
- 246 total · 15 in this make and model · 228 as pilot in command
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 340° at 4 knots
- Visibility
- 10 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 64 °F, dew point 55 °F
- Altimeter
- 30.25 inHg
- Observed at
- KLRU, 5 nm away
- METAR
- 041135Z AUTO 34004KT 10SM CLR 18/13 A3025 RMK AO2 T01760127
Docket · 1
The files NTSB released with the investigation on December 9, 2022, on NTSB’s docket system: statements, records, photos and specialists’ reports. 23.6 MB in all.