Individually Owned: 150,657
Corporate Owned: 137,281
Aircraft Accident/Incident Report
Phoenix, Arizona 85027
Saturday, November 24, 1990 7:30 PST
NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident
WHILE BOARDING PSNL FOR A LAUNCH, THE BALLOON (BLN) WAS INFLATED & TETHERED TO A VEHICLE WITH A QUICK RELEASE LINE. WINDS AT THE TIME WERE ESTD TO BE ABT 7 KTS & SLIGHTLY GUSTY. DRG THE LAUNCH, THE PLT ADDED HEAT TO TAKEOFF & SIGNALED FOR A RELEASE, BUT THE QUICK RELEASE LINE FAILED TO RELEASE. THE BLN SETTLED TO THE GND & 'BOBBED' UP & DWN 2 TIMES. THE PLT RPRTD THAT AT THE HEIGHT OF A BOUNCE (ABT 6 TO 10 FT), ALL 28 OF THE ADVANCED FIBER TECHNOLOGY (AFT) KEVLAR SUSPENSION CABLES FAILED. THE BASKET FELL TO THE GND & THE ENVELOPE ROSE TO ABT 500 TO 700 FT, THOUGH THE RED LINE STAYED ATTACHED TO THE BASKET & OPENED THE DEFLATION PORT; 2 OF THE 7 OCCUPANTS RCVD SERIOUS INJURIES. AN EXAM REVEALED STRENGTH DEGRADATION OF THE KEVLAR CABLES DUE TO HEAT EXPOSURE. THE BLN HAD 240 HRS OF FLT TIME. STRENGTH LOSS WAS FND IN SOME AFT/KEVLAR CABLES OF OTHER BLNS. ON 11/28/90, AEROSTAR INTL SVC BULLETIN #129 WAS ISSUED TO RETROFIT ALL S-66A & S-77A BNS WITH STEEL CABLES.
NTSB Probable Cause Narrative
STRENGTH DEGRADATION OF THE KEVLAR SUSPENSION CABLES, DUE TO PREVIOUS HEAT DAMAGE. FACTORS RELATED TO THE ACCIDENT WERE: FAILURE OF THE QUICK RELEASE LINE TO RELEASE, AND SUSCEPTIBILITY OF KEVLAR SUSPENSION CABLES TO HEAT.
Event Information
| Type of Event | Accident |
| Event Date | 11/24/1990 |
| Event Day of the Week | Saturday |
| Time of Event | 730 |
| Event Time Zone | Pacific Standard Time |
| Event City | PHOENIX |
| Event State | ARIZONA |
| Event Country | -- |
| Zipcode of the event site | 85027 |
| Event Date Year | 1990 |
| Event Date Month | 11 |
| MidAir Collision Indicator | No |
| On Ground Collision occurred ? | No |
| Event Location Latitude | |
| Event Location Longitude | |
| Event Location Airport | |
| Event Location Nearest Airport ID | |
| Indicates whether the acc/inc occurred off or on an airport | Off Airport/Airstrip |
| Distance from airport in statute miles | 0 |
| Degrees magnetic from airport | 0 |
| Airport Elevation | -- |
| Weather Briefing Completeness | Not pertinent |
| Investigator's weather source | Pilot |
| Time of the weather observation | 0 |
| Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) | 0 |
| Weather Observation Facility ID | |
| Elevation of weather observation facility | 0 |
| Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) | 0 |
| Time Zone of the weather observation | |
| Lighting Conditions | Day |
| Lowest Ceiling Height | 0 |
| Lowest Non-Ceiling Height | 0 |
| Sky/Lowest/Cloud Conditions | Clear |
| Sky Condition for Lowest Ceiling | None |
| Visibility Runway Visual Range (Feet) | 0 |
| Visibility Runway Visual Value (Statute Miles) | 0 |
| Visibility (Statute Miles) | 50 |
| Air Temperature at event time (in degrees celsius) | -18 |
| Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) | -18 |
| Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) | 60 |
| Variable Wind Indicator | Unknown |
| Wind Speed (knots) | 7 |
| Wind Velocity Indicator | Unknown |
| Wind Gust Indicator | Unknown |
| Wind Gust (knots) | 10 |
| Altimeter Setting at event time (in. Hg) | -- |
| Density Altitude (feet) | 0 |
| Intensity of Precipitation | Unknown |
| METAR weather report | -- |
| Event Highest Injury | Serious |
| On Ground, Fatal Injuries | 0 |
| On Ground, Minor Injuries | 0 |
| On Ground, Serious Injuries | 0 |
| Injury Total Fatal | -- |
| Injury Total Minor | 5 |
| Injury Total None | -- |
| Injury Total Serious | 2 |
| Injury Total All | 7 |
| Investigating Agency | NTSB |
| NTSB Docket Number (internal use) | 2151 |
| NTSB Notification Source | -- |
| NTSB Notification Date | Nov 24 1990 12:00AM |
| NTSB Notification Time | 1009 |
| Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information | 43990 |
| Date of most recent change to record | Dec 18 2002 11:28AM |
| User who most recently changed record | NTSB\GIUV |
| Basic weather conditions | Visual Meteorological Cond |
| FAA District Office | -- |
Aircraft Involved |
|
|---|---|
Aircraft #1 |
|
| Aircraft Registration Number | N3605T |
| NTSB Number | LAX91LA038 |
| Missing Aircraft Indicator | N |
| Federal Aviation Reg. Part | Part 91: General Aviation |
| Type of Flight Plan filed | None |
| Flight plan Was Activated? | -- |
| Damage | Substantial |
| Aircraft Fire | None |
| Aircraft Explosion | None |
| Aircraft Manufacturer's Full Name | Aerostar |
| Aircraft Model | S-77A |
| Aircraft Series Identifier | S-77A |
| Aircraft Serial Number | S77A-3011 |
| Certified Max Gross Weight | 2800 |
| Aircraft Category | Balloon |
| Aircraft Registration Class | U.S. Registered/U.S. Soil |
| Aircraft is a homebuilt? | No |
| Flight Crew Seats | -- |
| Cabin Crew Seats | -- |
| Passenger Seats | -- |
| Total number of seats on the aircraft | -- |
| Number of Engines | 0 |
| Fixed gear or retractable gear | Fixed |
| Aircraft, Type of Last Inspection | Unknown |
| Date of Last Inspection | -- |
| Airframe hours since last inspection | 0 |
| Airframe Hours | -- |
| ELT Installed | No |
| ELT Activated | Unknown |
| ELT Aided Location of Event Site | Unknown |
| ELT Type | -- |
| Aircraft Owner Name | UNICORN BALLOON CO. |
| Aircraft Owner Street Address | 15001 N. 74TH ST. |
| Aircraft Owner City | SCOTTSDALE |
| Aircraft Owner State | AZ |
| Aircraft Owner Country | |
| Aircraft Owner Zipcode | 85260 |
| Operator is an individual? | -- |
| Operator Name | |
| Operator Same as Owner? | Yes |
| Operator Is Doing Business As | -- |
| Operator Address Same as Owner? | No |
| Operator Street Address | |
| Operator City | |
| Operator State | |
| Operator Country | |
| Operator Zip code | |
| Operator Code | |
| Owner has at least one certificate | None |
| Other Operator of large aircraft? | No |
| Certified for Part 133 or 137 Operation | Unknown |
| Operator Certificate Number | -- |
| Indicates whether an air carrier operation was scheduled or not | -- |
| Indicates Domestic or International Flight | -- |
| Operator carrying Pax/Cargo/Mail | -- |
| Type of Flying (Per_Bus / Primary) | Personal |
| Second Pilot on Board | No |
| Departure Point Same as Event | Yes |
| Departure Airport Code | |
| Departure City | |
| Departure State | |
| Departure Country | |
| Departure Time | 730 |
| Departure Time Zone | MST |
| Destination Same as Local Flt | dest & departure same, accident can occur anywhere |
| Destination Airport Code | NONE |
| Destination City | |
| Destination State | |
| Destination Country | |
| Specific Phase of Flight | Descent - uncontrolled |
| Report sent to ICAO? | -- |
| Evacuation occurred | -- |
| Date of most recent change to record | Jan 2 2001 10:35AM |
| User who most recently changed record | dbo |
| Since inspection or accident | -- |
| Event Location Runway Number and Location | 0 |
| Runway Length | -- |
| Runway Width | -- |
| Sight Seeing flight | No |
| Air Medical Flight | No |
| Medical Flight | -- |