Individually Owned: 150,657
Corporate Owned: 137,281
Aircraft Accident/Incident Report
Sedona, Arizona 86336
Saturday, March 16, 2002 8:21 MST
NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident
The balloon descended abruptly in a strong downdraft, bounced on the terrain, and then rose again, dragging the basket through trees before coming to rest. A passenger was seriously injured after a branch had penetrated the basket and became imbedded in her leg. The pilot reported the balloon drifted north in the prevailing winds for a period of about 25 minutes. The wind velocity was estimated at less than 5 knots. The flight continued northbound after exiting a valley and remained at an altitude of about 100 feet above ground level (agl). As the anticipated landing site approached, the chase crew was sent ahead to verify wind conditions. In the descent, with the envelope cooled, the pilot planned to drift over a ridgeline oriented west to east to make use of the ridge's wind blocking effect for the landing. About 60 feet above the trees, a west wind accelerated the balloon toward the east about 20 miles per hour. The pilot elected to continue the attempt to land in the vicinity of the clearing he had selected, refrained from applying heat, and continued to deflate the envelope. A downdraft was encountered, the balloon touched down hard, and bounced. The balloon was dragged through the trees with the vent open. The envelope softened, and then spinnakered. With no buoyancy, the balloon descended again, faster, and was dragged through more trees, which resulted in a tree limb penetrating the basket and injuring one passenger. The pilot and the injured passenger were dumped from the basket and the balloon came to rest a few feet away. The other passengers remained with the gondola as it lay on its side. Three other balloons had also been in the vicinity, and the one behind had landed abruptly at about the same time. The pilot was still holding onto the parachute line to deflate the envelope when he and the impaled passenger fell out of the basket in the violent sequence. Safety gear was not included on the required Equipment List published by the manufacturer and none had been taken aboard.
NTSB Probable Cause Narrative
The pilot's decision to continue the landing approach after encountering a high wind condition. A factor in the accident was the pilot's decision to use the trees to try and slow the balloon's ground speed.
Event Information
| Type of Event | Accident |
| Event Date | 3/16/2002 |
| Event Day of the Week | Saturday |
| Time of Event | 821 |
| Event Time Zone | Mountain Standard Time |
| Event City | Sedona |
| Event State | ARIZONA |
| Event Country | -- |
| Zipcode of the event site | 86336 |
| Event Date Year | 2002 |
| Event Date Month | 3 |
| 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 | -- |
| Degrees magnetic from airport | -- |
| Airport Elevation | -- |
| Weather Briefing Completeness | Full |
| Investigator's weather source | Weather Observation Facility |
| Time of the weather observation | 815 Mountain Standard Time |
| Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) | -- |
| Weather Observation Facility ID | FLG |
| Elevation of weather observation facility | 7011 |
| Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) | -- |
| Time Zone of the weather observation | MST |
| Lighting Conditions | Day |
| Lowest Ceiling Height | 2400 |
| Lowest Non-Ceiling Height | -- |
| Sky/Lowest/Cloud Conditions | -- |
| Sky Condition for Lowest Ceiling | Broken |
| Visibility Runway Visual Range (Feet) | -- |
| Visibility Runway Visual Value (Statute Miles) | -- |
| Visibility (Statute Miles) | 4 |
| Air Temperature at event time (in degrees celsius) | 5 |
| Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) | 11 |
| Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) | 210 |
| Variable Wind Indicator | Wind direction could be determined |
| Wind Speed (knots) | 9 |
| Wind Velocity Indicator | -- |
| Wind Gust Indicator | Gusting |
| Wind Gust (knots) | 0 |
| Altimeter Setting at event time (in. Hg) | 29.85 |
| 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 | 6 |
| Injury Total None | -- |
| Injury Total Serious | 1 |
| Injury Total All | 7 |
| Investigating Agency | NTSB |
| NTSB Docket Number (internal use) | 14948 |
| NTSB Notification Source | FAA |
| NTSB Notification Date | Mar 16 2002 12:00AM |
| NTSB Notification Time | 845 |
| Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information | DMS |
| Date of most recent change to record | Mar 2 2004 8:06AM |
| User who most recently changed record | NTSB\MONR |
| Basic weather conditions | Visual Meteorological Cond |
| FAA District Office | Scottsdale, AZ FSDO |
Aircraft Involved |
|
|---|---|
Aircraft #1 |
|
| Aircraft Registration Number | N2037U |
| NTSB Number | LAX02LA111 |
| Missing Aircraft Indicator | -- |
| Federal Aviation Reg. Part | Part 91: General Aviation |
| Type of Flight Plan filed | None |
| Flight plan Was Activated? | No |
| Damage | Substantial |
| Aircraft Fire | None |
| Aircraft Explosion | None |
| Aircraft Manufacturer's Full Name | Avian |
| Aircraft Model | Magnum IX |
| Aircraft Series Identifier | -- |
| Aircraft Serial Number | 202 |
| Certified Max Gross Weight | 2400 |
| 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 | Annual |
| Date of Last Inspection | Aug 17 2001 12:00AM |
| Airframe hours since last inspection | 69 |
| Airframe Hours | 763 |
| ELT Installed | No |
| ELT Activated | No |
| ELT Aided Location of Event Site | No |
| ELT Type | -- |
| Aircraft Owner Name | Northern Light Balloon Expeditions |
| Aircraft Owner Street Address | 455 Dry Creek Road |
| Aircraft Owner City | Sedona |
| Aircraft Owner State | AZ |
| Aircraft Owner Country | USA |
| Aircraft Owner Zipcode | 86336 |
| 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) | Other Work Use |
| Second Pilot on Board | No |
| Departure Point Same as Event | Yes |
| Departure Airport Code | -- |
| Departure City | Sedona |
| Departure State | AZ |
| Departure Country | USA |
| Departure Time | 655 |
| Departure Time Zone | MST |
| Destination Same as Local Flt | dest & departure same, accident can occur anywhere |
| Destination Airport Code | -- |
| Destination City | -- |
| Destination State | -- |
| Destination Country | -- |
| Specific Phase of Flight | Landing |
| Report sent to ICAO? | No |
| Evacuation occurred | No |
| Date of most recent change to record | Dec 12 2003 3:42PM |
| User who most recently changed record | COOS |
| Since inspection or accident | -- |
| Event Location Runway Number and Location | -- |
| Runway Length | -- |
| Runway Width | -- |
| Sight Seeing flight | Yes |
| Air Medical Flight | No |
| Medical Flight | -- |