Barnes AX-7 N90790

Summary

On 6 March 1982 at about 16:30 local time, a Barnes AX-7 registered N90790, operated by Charles Leisek, was involved in an accident near Henderson, Nevada, United States. 4 people were on board and one was seriously injured, one had minor injuries. No probable cause statement is available for this record.

Date

6 March 1982 at 16:30

Classification

Accident

Location

Henderson, Nevada, United States

Coordinates

36.0402, -114.9294

Aircraft

Barnes AX-7

Registration

N90790

Category

Balloon

Operator

Charles Leisek

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Personal

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Henderson → Henderson

Aircraft damage

Not recorded

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

LAX82DA094

1 person was seriously injured.

The NTSB has not published a probable cause for this record. No probable cause statement is present in the source data.

Nothing about the cause is stated here that is not in the source record.

Read the full NTSB narrative

WHILE INFLATING THE BALLOON, THE PILOT HAD SOME TROUBLE KEEPING THE PILOT LIGHT LIT. AFTER THE BALLOON WAS INFLATED, IT WAS FLOWN ON A 20 MINUTE FLIGHT WITHOUT INCIDENT. HOWEVER, WHILE LANDING ON THE SECOND FLIGHT, THE BALLOON BOUNCE DURING TOUCHDOWN. AT ABOUT THE SAME TIME THERE WAS ABOUT A 90 DEGREE WINDSHIFT AND THE BALLOON STARTED DRIFTING TOWARD SOME ROCKS. THE PILOT ATTEMPTED TO LIGHT THE BURNER TO CLEAR THE ROCKS, BUT REPORTEDLY HAD A FLAME OUT. THE PILOT WAS KNOCKED OUT OF THE BASKET AND INJURED WHEN IT HIT THE ROCKS. WITH LESS WEIGHT IN THE BASKET, THE BALLOON BEGAN A RAPID CLIMB. ANOTHER BALLOON PILOT WAS ALSO ON BOARD. HE ASSUMED CONTROL AND LANDED THE BALLOON SAFELY.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.