Aircraft Accident/Incident Report

Albuquerque, New Mexico 87101
Wednesday, October 10, 2001 8:30 MDT

NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident

The pilot attempted a landing to an asphalt parking lot, which contained a small building and automobiles. The balloon basket touched down and dragged along the asphalt approximately 60-80 feet. The balloon and basket impacted the small building and a powerline. Upon impact with the building, one passenger sustained a fractured shoulder. The pilot stated the wind at the time of the landing was approximately 10-12 knots.

NTSB Probable Cause Narrative

the selection of an unsuitable landing area by the pilot. A contributing factor was the high wind during the landing.

Event Information

Type of Event Accident
Event Date 10/10/2001
Event Day of the Week Wednesday
Time of Event 830
Event Time Zone Mountain Daylight Time
Event City Albuquerque
Event State NEW MEXICO
Event Country --
Zipcode of the event site 87101
Event Date Year 2001
Event Date Month 10
MidAir Collision Indicator No
On Ground Collision occurred ? Yes
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 --
Degrees magnetic from airport --
Airport Elevation --
Weather Briefing Completeness Partial - limited by pilot
Investigator's weather source Pilot
Time of the weather observation
Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) --
Weather Observation Facility ID --
Elevation of weather observation facility --
Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) --
Time Zone of the weather observation --
Lighting Conditions Day
Lowest Ceiling Height --
Lowest Non-Ceiling Height --
Sky/Lowest/Cloud Conditions Clear
Sky Condition for Lowest Ceiling None
Visibility Runway Visual Range (Feet) --
Visibility Runway Visual Value (Statute Miles) --
Visibility (Statute Miles) 6
Air Temperature at event time (in degrees celsius) 10
Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) --
Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) 315
Variable Wind Indicator Wind direction could be determined
Wind Speed (knots) 12
Wind Velocity Indicator --
Wind Gust Indicator Not Gusting
Wind Gust (knots) --
Altimeter Setting at event time (in. Hg) --
Density Altitude (feet) --
Intensity of Precipitation --
METAR weather report --
Event Highest Injury Serious
On Ground, Fatal Injuries --
On Ground, Minor Injuries --
On Ground, Serious Injuries --
Injury Total Fatal --
Injury Total Minor --
Injury Total None 10
Injury Total Serious 1
Injury Total All 1
Investigating Agency NTSB
NTSB Docket Number (internal use) 12104
NTSB Notification Source FAA Operations Center
NTSB Notification Date Oct 15 2001 12:00AM
NTSB Notification Time 730
Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information DMS
Date of most recent change to record Aug 26 2002 11:02AM
User who most recently changed record NTSB\MONR
Basic weather conditions Visual Meteorological Cond
FAA District Office Albuquerque, New Mexico

Aircraft Involved

Aircraft #1

Aircraft Registration Number N52760
NTSB Number FTW02LA013
Missing Aircraft Indicator --
Federal Aviation Reg. Part Part 91: General Aviation
Type of Flight Plan filed None
Flight plan Was Activated? No
Damage Minor
Aircraft Fire None
Aircraft Explosion None
Aircraft Manufacturer's Full Name Aerostar International Inc
Aircraft Model S81A
Aircraft Series Identifier --
Aircraft Serial Number S81A-3009
Certified Max Gross Weight --
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 10
Number of Engines 0
Fixed gear or retractable gear Fixed
Aircraft, Type of Last Inspection 100 Hour
Date of Last Inspection Sep 4 2001 12:00AM
Airframe hours since last inspection 39
Airframe Hours 248
ELT Installed No
ELT Activated No
ELT Aided Location of Event Site No
ELT Type --
Aircraft Owner Name Miles High Inc.
Aircraft Owner Street Address P.O. Box 1344
Aircraft Owner City Park City
Aircraft Owner State UT
Aircraft Owner Country USA
Aircraft Owner Zipcode 84060
Operator is an individual? No
Operator Name --
Operator Same as Owner? Yes
Operator Is Doing Business As --
Operator Address Same as Owner? Yes
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? --
Certified for Part 133 or 137 Operation --
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) Aerial Observation
Second Pilot on Board No
Departure Point Same as Event No
Departure Airport Code NONE
Departure City Albuquerque
Departure State NM
Departure Country USA
Departure Time 745
Departure Time Zone MDT
Destination Same as Local Flt crash at destination city
Destination Airport Code --
Destination City Albuquerque
Destination State 
Destination Country USA
Specific Phase of Flight Landing - flare/touchdown
Report sent to ICAO? No
Evacuation occurred No
Date of most recent change to record Jul 16 2002 9:45AM
User who most recently changed record SNYG
Since inspection or accident Time of Accident
Event Location Runway Number and Location --
Runway Length --
Runway Width --
Sight Seeing flight Yes
Air Medical Flight No
Medical Flight --