Cameron N-77 N16067
27 April 1997 · Temecula, California, United States · No injuries
Summary
On 27 April 1997 at about 15:15 local time, a Cameron N-77 registered N16067 was involved in an accident near Temecula, California, United States. One person was on board and nobody was injured. The aircraft was destroyed. The NTSB has published a probable cause for this accident; it is quoted in full below.
The record
- Date
- at 15:15
- Classification
- Accident
- Location
- Temecula, California, United States
- Coordinates
- Not recorded
- Aircraft
- Cameron N-77
- Registration
- N16067
- Category
- Balloon
- Operator
- Not recorded
- Operating rule
- Part 91: General Aviation
- Purpose of flight
- Unknown
- Phase of flight
- Not recorded
- Aircraft damage
- Destroyed
- Weather
- VMC
- Light
- Day
- NTSB number
- LAX97LA169
People
Nobody was injured.
| On board | Died | Serious | Minor | Uninjured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
Probable cause
The pilot's misjudgment of his speed and altitude, which led to a landing overshoot.
Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record. This site does not paraphrase or interpret it.
Read the full NTSB narrative
The pilot reported that after 45 minutes of flight he began looking for a place to land which was accessible by the ground crew. The balloon was drifting toward an area of hills and the pilot spotted a hill with a flat top, which had recently been graded off in preparation for construction. A road sufficient for recovery of the balloon ran up the spine of the connecting ridge line. The pilot then began a descent toward the landing spot, but overshot the hilltop and touched down on the far slope. The balloon gondola touched down on a large rock hidden in tall vegetation just as the pilot pulled the rip panel open to deflate the envelope and the balloon tipped over on its side. The pilot had left one pilot light on during the touchdown sequence and the pilot flame ignited a grass fire. The pilot, along with a nearby resident, attempted to extinguish the fire with fire extinguishers, but were unsuccessful and the balloon was consumed in the fire. Fire department vehicles monitoring the balloon competition reached the site in about an hour and extinguished the grass fire.
Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.
Other accidents in this area
| Date | Aircraft | Location | Operator | Outcome | Died |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 24 Aug 1997 | Airbus A300 B4-203 | Los Angeles, California, United States | Pan American World Airways, In | No injuries | - |
| 15 Aug 1997 | Bell UH-1H | Tahoe City, California, United States | Usda / Forest Service | Minor injuries | - |
| 11 Oct 1997 | Cessna 152 | Julian, California, United States | Plus One Flyers, Inc. | Fatal | 1 |
| 11 Oct 1997 | Schweizer 2-32 | Warner Springs, California, United States | - | Fatal | 1 |
| 12 Oct 1997 | Bellanca 7ECA | Tracy, California, United States | - | Fatal | 1 |
| 26 Oct 1997 | Extra Flugzeugbau EA-300 | Castaic, California, United States | - | Fatal | 2 |