Balloon Works FIREFLY 8-24 N74056
6 October 1997 · Albuquerque, New Mexico, United States · Serious injuries
Summary
On 6 October 1997 at about 14:00 local time, a Balloon Works FIREFLY 8-24 registered N74056 was involved in an accident near Albuquerque, New Mexico, United States. 3 people were on board and one was seriously injured. The NTSB has published a probable cause for this accident; it is quoted in full below.
The record
- Date
- at 14:00
- Classification
- Accident
- Location
- Albuquerque, New Mexico, United States
- Coordinates
- Not recorded
- Aircraft
- Balloon Works FIREFLY 8-24
- Registration
- N74056
- Category
- Balloon
- Operator
- Not recorded
- Operating rule
- Part 91: General Aviation
- Purpose of flight
- Personal
- Phase of flight
- Not recorded
- Aircraft damage
- Not recorded
- Weather
- VMC
- Light
- Day
- NTSB number
- FTW98LA008
People
1 person was seriously injured.
| On board | Died | Serious | Minor | Uninjured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 |
Probable cause
the passenger's failure to follow procedures/directives for the landing.
Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record. This site does not paraphrase or interpret it.
Read the full NTSB narrative
According to the pilot, the 'approach to landing was normal.' He stated that the balloon 'touched down, bounced once, and came to a normal upright stop.' The injured passenger (the pilot's wife) reported to the Investigator-In-Charge (IIC) that 'she had her arm around an upright and was holding on very hard.' She stated to the IIC that she believed that the 'landing was not a difficult landing,' but she was having 'some difficulty with my [her] knees' and did not have them bent as the pilot had instructed. Subsequently, during the landing sequence, she fractured her arm.
Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.
Other Balloon Works FIREFLY accidents
| Date | Aircraft | Location | Operator | Outcome | Died |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 5 Jul 1997 | Balloon Works FIREFLY 7 | Columbia, Missouri, United States | - | No injuries | - |
| 11 Oct 1997 | Balloon Works FIREFLY 11 | Rancho Bernardo, California, United States | - | Serious injuries | - |
| 10 Aug 1997 | Balloon Works FIREFLY 7B-15 | Columbia, Missouri, United States | Theron Riley | Serious injuries | - |
| 30 May 1998 | Balloon Works FIREFLY 7-15 | Waterloo, Iowa, United States | - | No injuries | - |
| 29 Aug 1998 | Balloon Works FIREFLY 7 | Freehold, New Jersey, United States | - | Serious injuries | - |
| 5 Oct 1998 | Balloon Works FIREFLY 8B-15 | Albuquerque, New Mexico, United States | - | Serious injuries | - |
Other accidents in this area
| Date | Aircraft | Location | Operator | Outcome | Died |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 27 Jun 1997 | Piper PA-18 | Clovis, New Mexico, United States | - | No injuries | - |
| 28 Jan 1997 | Beechcraft 95-B55 | Mayhill, New Mexico, United States | - | Fatal | 3 |
| 3 Feb 1997 | Aeronca 65-TC | Moriarty, New Mexico, United States | William A. Essenburg | Fatal | 2 |
| 15 Feb 1997 | Piper PA-24-250 | Farmington, New Mexico, United States | - | Fatal | 5 |
| 6 Oct 1997 | Aerostar S-60A | Albuquerque, New Mexico, United States | Ronald E. Hensley | No injuries | - |
| 5 Jul 1997 | Schempp-Hirth VENTUS-2B | Hobbs, New Mexico, United States | - | Fatal | 1 |