- Date
- October 8, 2023, 08:15 local (14:15 UTC)
- Place
- Albuquerque, NM
- Injuries
- 1 serious, 2 uninjured
- Damage
- No damage
- Phase of flight
- Landing
- Aircraft
- N105BMCameron Balloons US A-105
- Defining event
- Landing-flare/touchdown: 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
- Federal Aviation Administration
- FAA report
- 20231008021539A
- Case key
- 193228
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
A hard landing to a short field, due to windy conditions and a lack of suitable alternate landing areas, which resulted in a passenger sustaining a broken ankle.
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
**This report was modified on February 14, 2025. Please see the public docket for this accident to view the original report.** The pilot of the balloon reported that she performed an approach to land in an adequate but relatively small field with no suitable alternates nearby. With a wind of about 8 knots, the pilot considered this to be a high-wind landing. Once the balloon was clear of all obstacles and within 15 ft above ground level, she used the balloon’s smart vent system to perform a controlled landing, in accordance with the balloon’s operating manual. The balloon landed hard, which resulted in one passenger breaking her ankle. The pilot reported that there were no mechanical malfunctions or failures that would have precluded normal operation.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N105BM
- Reported as
- Cameron Balloons US A-105
- Category
- Balloon
- Serial number
- 6538
- Built
- 2008
- Airframe hours
- 499.5
- Engine
- None, none
- Damage
- No damage
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Balloon
- Last inspection
- Annual · September 22, 2023
- Departed
- Albuquerque, NM
- Destination
- Albuquerque, NM
- Equipment
- Electronic flight bag or handheld device, Handheld GPS
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
- 64
- Injuries
- None
- Certificate
- Private
- Last flight review
- June 16, 2023
- Seat
- None
- Restraint
- None
- Flight hours
- 573.1 total · 573.1 in this make and model · 6.05 in the last 90 days · 0 in the last 30 days · 1.15 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 180° at 8 knots
- Visibility
- 10 statute miles
- Temperature
- 51 °F, dew point 39 °F
- Altimeter
- 31.00 inHg
Docket · 5
The files NTSB released with the investigation on January 10, 2024, on NTSB’s docket system: statements, records, photos and specialists’ reports. 14.9 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.