Lindstrand Balloons 90A N40051

Summary

On 17 June 2002 at about 01:00 local time, a Lindstrand Balloons 90A registered N40051 was involved in an accident near Mukwonago, Wisconsin, United States. 3 people were on board and one was seriously injured, 2 had minor injuries. The NTSB has published a probable cause for this accident; it is quoted in full below.

Date

17 June 2002 at 01:00

Classification

Accident

Location

Mukwonago, Wisconsin, United States

Coordinates

42.8592, -88.3303

Aircraft

Lindstrand Balloons 90A

Registration

N40051

Category

Balloon

Operator

Not recorded

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Unknown

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Waukesha → Unknown

Aircraft damage

Not recorded

Weather

VMC

Light

Dusk

NTSB number

CHI02LA169

1 person was seriously injured.

The inadequate weather evaluation by the pilot and high winds.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record. This site does not paraphrase or interpret it.

Read the full NTSB narrative

The balloon flight made a hard landing in 12-15 knots winds seriously injuring one of the two passengers aboard. The pilot delayed the flight and checked the weather several times before arriving at the launch site where the decision to launch was made. The pilot released two pibals at his residence located about 10 miles northeast of the launch site. The first pibal, released 1 hour and 10 minutes before the flight, headed towards 120-130 degrees at 12 knots. The second pibal, released 50 minutes before the flight, traveled in the same direction at a slower speed. During the drive to the launch site, the pilot noticed darkening skies and clouds to the northwest which he queried about when he called for an updated weather briefing. About 30 minutes after departure, the pilot noticed a breeze with a 190 degree change in wind direction and a decrease in speed. They proceeded westbound and began an ascent to 400 feet agl to clear power lines at which time the balloon was traveling about 15 knots towards the west. The pilot then descended to look for a landing area and stated that a gust pushed the balloon into trees during a landing approach. He heated the balloon, which was traveling about 12 knots, in order to get through the trees and attempted another landing. He told his passengers to prepare for a fast landing as they were traveling about 12-15 knots. The balloon came to rest 100 yards from the initial point of impact. Weather radar indicated an area of convective activity about 24 miles west of the accident site.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.