Individually Owned: 151,845
Corporate Owned: 143,699
Aircraft Accident/Incident Report
Snowmass Villag, Colorado 81615
Wednesday, July 16, 2003 6:30 MDT
NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident
Balloon #1 N35965 departed approximately 1 to 2 minutes after balloon #2 N5047C departed. Balloon #2 had proceeded slightly west of a creek bed. Approximately 1 mile down the creek bed, #1 passed #2. Two miles further down the creek bed, #2 had obtained a faster ground speed and began to close in on balloon #1. The pilot of balloon #2 initiated an accent to climb up and over balloon #1. The basket of balloon #2 impacted the envelope of balloon #1 approximately 20 feet down from the top of the balloon causing substantial damage to the envelope.
NTSB Probable Cause Narrative
the failure of the pilot of balloon #2 to maintain clearance from balloon #1 while overtaking him.
Event Information
| Type of Event | Accident |
| Event Date | 7/16/2003 |
| Event Day of the Week | Wednesday |
| Time of Event | 630 |
| Event Time Zone | Mountain Daylight Time |
| Event City | Snowmass Villag |
| Event State | COLORADO |
| Event Country | -- |
| Zipcode of the event site | 81615 |
| Event Date Year | 2003 |
| Event Date Month | 7 |
| MidAir Collision Indicator | Yes |
| On Ground Collision occurred ? | No |
| Event Location Latitude | 391954N |
| Event Location Longitude | 1065907W |
| 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 | 553 Mountain Daylight Time |
| Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) | 320 |
| Weather Observation Facility ID | ASE |
| Elevation of weather observation facility | 7820 |
| Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) | 2 |
| Time Zone of the weather observation | MDT |
| Lighting Conditions | Day |
| Lowest Ceiling Height | -- |
| Lowest Non-Ceiling Height | 9000 |
| Sky/Lowest/Cloud Conditions | Few |
| Sky Condition for Lowest Ceiling | None |
| Visibility Runway Visual Range (Feet) | -- |
| Visibility Runway Visual Value (Statute Miles) | -- |
| Visibility (Statute Miles) | 10 |
| Air Temperature at event time (in degrees celsius) | 11 |
| Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) | 6 |
| Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) | 170 |
| Variable Wind Indicator | Wind direction could be determined |
| Wind Speed (knots) | 6 |
| Wind Velocity Indicator | -- |
| Wind Gust Indicator | Gusting |
| Wind Gust (knots) | 0 |
| Altimeter Setting at event time (in. Hg) | 30.45 |
| Density Altitude (feet) | 8653 |
| Intensity of Precipitation | -- |
| METAR weather report | -- |
| Event Highest Injury | None |
| 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 | -- |
| Injury Total All | -- |
| Investigating Agency | NTSB |
| NTSB Docket Number (internal use) | 15107 |
| NTSB Notification Source | FAA COMM CTR |
| NTSB Notification Date | Jul 16 2003 12:00AM |
| NTSB Notification Time | 730 |
| Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information | DMS |
| Date of most recent change to record | Mar 30 2004 8:14AM |
| User who most recently changed record | NTSB\MONR |
| Basic weather conditions | Visual Meteorological Cond |
| FAA District Office | Denver, CO FSDO |
Aircraft Involved |
||
|---|---|---|
Aircraft #1 |
Aircraft #2 |
|
| Aircraft Registration Number | N35965 | N5047C |
| NTSB Number | DEN03LA130A | DEN03LA130B |
| Missing Aircraft Indicator | -- | -- |
| Federal Aviation Reg. Part | Part 91: General Aviation | Part 91: General Aviation |
| Type of Flight Plan filed | None | None |
| Flight plan Was Activated? | No | No |
| Damage | Substantial | None |
| Aircraft Fire | None | None |
| Aircraft Explosion | None | None |
| Aircraft Manufacturer's Full Name | Aerostar | Aerostar |
| Aircraft Model | RX-8 | S-71A |
| Aircraft Series Identifier | -- | -- |
| Aircraft Serial Number | RX8-3004 | S71A-3022 |
| Certified Max Gross Weight | 1650 | -- |
| Aircraft Category | Balloon | Balloon |
| Aircraft Registration Class | U.S. Registered/U.S. Soil | U.S. Registered/U.S. Soil |
| Aircraft is a homebuilt? | No | 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 | Fixed |
| Aircraft, Type of Last Inspection | Annual | Annual |
| Date of Last Inspection | May 6 2003 12:00AM | Jun 27 2003 12:00AM |
| Airframe hours since last inspection | 5.7 | -- |
| Airframe Hours | 451.6 | -- |
| ELT Installed | No | No |
| ELT Activated | No | No |
| ELT Aided Location of Event Site | No | No |
| ELT Type | -- | -- |
| Aircraft Owner Name | Bruce L. Wood | Adventures Out West |
| Aircraft Owner Street Address | On File | P.O. Box 38512 |
| Aircraft Owner City | Carbondale | Colorado Springs |
| Aircraft Owner State | -- | -- |
| Aircraft Owner Country | USA | USA |
| Aircraft Owner Zipcode | 81623 | 80937 |
| Operator is an individual? | Yes | No |
| Operator Name | -- | -- |
| Operator Same as Owner? | Yes | Yes |
| Operator Is Doing Business As | -- | -- |
| Operator Address Same as Owner? | Yes | Yes |
| Operator Street Address | -- | -- |
| Operator City | -- | -- |
| Operator State | -- | -- |
| Operator Country | -- | -- |
| Operator Zip code | -- | -- |
| Operator Code | -- | -- |
| Owner has at least one certificate | None | 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) | Personal | Personal |
| Second Pilot on Board | No | No |
| Departure Point Same as Event | Yes | Yes |
| Departure Airport Code | NONE | NONE |
| Departure City | Snowmass Villag | Snowmass Villag |
| Departure State | CO | CO |
| Departure Country | USA | USA |
| Departure Time | 610 | 610 |
| Departure Time Zone | MDT | MDT |
| Destination Same as Local Flt | dest & departure same, accident can occur anywhere | dest & departure same, accident can occur anywhere |
| Destination Airport Code | -- | -- |
| Destination City | -- | -- |
| Destination State | -- | -- |
| Destination Country | -- | -- |
| Specific Phase of Flight | Maneuvering | Maneuvering |
| Report sent to ICAO? | No | No |
| Evacuation occurred | No | No |
| Date of most recent change to record | Feb 13 2004 11:57AM | Feb 13 2004 11:57AM |
| User who most recently changed record | MCBM | MCBM |
| Since inspection or accident | Last Inspection | -- |
| Event Location Runway Number and Location | NA | NA |
| Runway Length | -- | -- |
| Runway Width | -- | -- |
| Sight Seeing flight | Yes | Yes |
| Air Medical Flight | No | No |
| Medical Flight | -- | -- |