Aircraft Accident/Incident Report

Slayton, Minnesota 56172
Monday, August 11, 2003 18:00 CDT

NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident

A passenger was seriously injured during a hard landing in the hot air balloon. The injured passenger contacted the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and informed an inspector of the accident. The passenger's right leg was broken in two locations during a rough landing. The passenger informed the FAA that she was a paying passenger in the balloon at the time of the accident. The balloon was piloted by a student pilot. The wind velocity recorded nearest the accident site was 6 knots. 14 CFR Part 61.89 states that a student pilot may not carry passengers, or operate an aircraft for compensation or hire.

NTSB Probable Cause Narrative

The excessive descent rate during the balloon's landing by the student pilot.

Event Information

Type of Event Accident
Event Date 8/11/2003
Event Day of the Week Monday
Time of Event 1800
Event Time Zone Central Daylight Time
Event City Slayton
Event State MINNESOTA
Event Country --
Zipcode of the event site 56172
Event Date Year 2003
Event Date Month 8
MidAir Collision Indicator No
On Ground Collision occurred ? No
Event Location Latitude 435914N
Event Location Longitude 0954533W
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 Not pertinent
Investigator's weather source Weather Observation Facility
Time of the weather observation 1816 Central Daylight Time
Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) 270
Weather Observation Facility ID PQN
Elevation of weather observation facility 1736
Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) 24
Time Zone of the weather observation CDT
Lighting Conditions Dusk
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) 10
Air Temperature at event time (in degrees celsius) 29
Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) 17
Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) 90
Variable Wind Indicator Wind direction could be determined
Wind Speed (knots) 6
Wind Velocity Indicator --
Wind Gust Indicator Not Gusting
Wind Gust (knots) --
Altimeter Setting at event time (in. Hg) 30.17
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 5
Injury Total Serious 1
Injury Total All 1
Investigating Agency NTSB
NTSB Docket Number (internal use) 15843
NTSB Notification Source FAA
NTSB Notification Date Sep 19 2003 12:00AM
NTSB Notification Time 1000
Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information DMS
Date of most recent change to record Jul 29 2004 7:30AM
User who most recently changed record NTSB\MONR
Basic weather conditions Visual Meteorological Cond
FAA District Office Minneapolis, Minnesota

Aircraft Involved

Aircraft #1

Aircraft Registration Number N2789N
NTSB Number CHI03LA313
Missing Aircraft Indicator --
Federal Aviation Reg. Part Part 91: General Aviation
Type of Flight Plan filed None
Flight plan Was Activated? No
Damage None
Aircraft Fire None
Aircraft Explosion None
Aircraft Manufacturer's Full Name Raven
Aircraft Model S-60A
Aircraft Series Identifier --
Aircraft Serial Number 372
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 --
Number of Engines 0
Fixed gear or retractable gear Fixed
Aircraft, Type of Last Inspection --
Date of Last Inspection --
Airframe hours since last inspection --
Airframe Hours --
ELT Installed No
ELT Activated No
ELT Aided Location of Event Site No
ELT Type --
Aircraft Owner Name Daniel S. Johnson
Aircraft Owner Street Address 8055 E. Thomas Rd. Apt E102
Aircraft Owner City Scottsdale
Aircraft Owner State AZ
Aircraft Owner Country USA
Aircraft Owner Zipcode 85251
Operator is an individual? Yes
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) Business
Second Pilot on Board No
Departure Point Same as Event Yes
Departure Airport Code --
Departure City Slayton
Departure State MN
Departure Country USA
Departure Time 1700
Departure Time Zone CDT
Destination Same as Local Flt crash at destination city
Destination Airport Code --
Destination City Slayton
Destination State MN
Destination Country USA
Specific Phase of Flight Landing
Report sent to ICAO? No
Evacuation occurred No
Date of most recent change to record May 28 2004 8:22AM
User who most recently changed record SULP
Since inspection or accident --
Event Location Runway Number and Location NA
Runway Length --
Runway Width --
Sight Seeing flight Yes
Air Medical Flight No
Medical Flight --