Balloon Works FIREFLY 8-24 N3694C
31 March 1986 · Pheonix, Arizona, United States · Serious injuries
Summary
On 31 March 1986 at about 14:30 local time, a Balloon Works FIREFLY 8-24 registered N3694C was involved in an accident near Pheonix, Arizona, United States. 7 people were on board and one was seriously injured. No probable cause statement is available for this record.
The record
- Date
- at 14:30
- Classification
- Accident
- Location
- Pheonix, Arizona, United States
- Coordinates
- 33.5892, -112.1707
- Aircraft
- Balloon Works FIREFLY 8-24
- Registration
- N3694C
- Category
- Balloon
- Operator
- Not recorded
- Operating rule
- Part 91: General Aviation
- Purpose of flight
- Unknown
- Phase of flight
- Not recorded
- Route
- Glendale → Unknown
- Aircraft damage
- Not recorded
- Weather
- VMC
- Light
- Day
- NTSB number
- LAX86LA159
People
1 person was seriously injured.
| On board | Died | Serious | Minor | Uninjured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 7 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 6 |
Probable cause
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
THE BALLOON COLLIDED WITH THE TERRAIN DURING A SIGHT SEEING TOUR. THE PLT NOTICED THE DUST SIGNATURE OF GROUND TURBULENT WX PHENOMENA KNOWN AS ROTORS OR DUST DEVILS ARPX 3 MILES AHEAD. HE ELECTED TO MAKE AN IMMEDIATE PRECAUTIONARY LANDING AND DESCENDED TO AN ALT OF 75 FT AGL. THE BALLOON WAS DRIFTING AT 3 TO 5 KTS OVER AN ORCHARD ON FINAL APCH TO AN OPEN FLD WHEN IT ENCOUNTERED THE ADVERSE WIND. THE BALLOON CHANGED ITS' DIRECTION OF TRAVEL 180 DEGS. THE PLT INITIATED A CLIMB BY SWITCHING ON BOTH BURNERS, BUT THE BALLOON DESCENDED AND WAS DRAGGED THROUGH THE TREE TOPS OF THE ORCHARD. AT 20 FT AGL THE BALLOON BEGAN TO CLIMB TO AN ALT OF 100 TO 120 FT AND THEN ENCOUNTERED A STRONG DOWNDRAFT.THE PLT SHUT OFF BOTH BURNERS AND PILOT LIGHTS AND THEN ALERTED THE PASSENGERS. THE PLT PULLED THE PARACHUTE DEFLATION PORT AND THE BALLOON LANDED HARD. ON IMPACT ONE PASSENGER WAS THROWN FROM THE BASKET AND SUSTAINED SERIOUS INJURIES.
Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.
Other Balloon Works FIREFLY accidents
| Date | Aircraft | Location | Operator | Outcome | Died |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 4 Nov 1986 | Balloon Works FIREFLY 8-24 | Brandon, Florida, United States | - | Serious injuries | - |
| 5 Jul 1986 | Balloon Works FIREFLY 7 | Hurley, New Mexico, United States | First State Bank of Dona ANA | Serious injuries | - |
| 25 May 1986 | Balloon Works FIREFLY 7-B | Lee's Summit, Missouri, United States | - | Serious injuries | - |
| 5 Mar 1987 | Balloon Works FIREFLY 7-B | Broken Arrow, Oklahoma, United States | - | No injuries | - |
| 5 Oct 1987 | Balloon Works FIREFLY 7-B | Rio Rancho, New Mexico, United States | Janet L. Hodges | No injuries | - |
| 17 Nov 1985 | Balloon Works FIREFLY 6B | Englewood, Colorado, United States | J. Robert Pendleton | Minor injuries | - |
Other accidents in this area
| Date | Aircraft | Location | Operator | Outcome | Died |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 9 Nov 1986 | Schweizer SGS2-33A | Sun City, Arizona, United States | Michael W. Mullane | No injuries | - |
| 11 Nov 1986 | Cessna T210N | Buckeye, Arizona, United States | - | Serious injuries | - |
| 17 Nov 1986 | Piper PA-18-150 | Chandler, Arizona, United States | James D. Vaughan | No injuries | - |
| 19 Apr 1986 | Piper PA-25-235 | Phoenix, Arizona, United States | RAY Couliette | No injuries | - |
| 17 Jul 1986 | Grumman G-164-3 | Casa Grande, Arizona, United States | Al-Don Dusting Service, Inc. | No injuries | - |
| 12 Aug 1986 | Air Tractor AT301 | Gilbert, Arizona, United States | Aero Spray, Inc. | No injuries | - |