Firefly Balloons GALAXY 11B N2190S

Summary

On 9 October 2003 at about 15:20 local time, a Firefly Balloons GALAXY 11B registered N2190S was involved in an accident near Albuquerque, New Mexico, United States. 11 people were on board and 2 were seriously injured, 6 had minor injuries. The aircraft was substantially damaged. The NTSB has published a probable cause for this accident; it is quoted in full below.

Date

9 October 2003 at 15:20

Classification

Accident

Location

Albuquerque, New Mexico, United States

Coordinates

35.0599, -106.6194

Aircraft

Firefly Balloons GALAXY 11B

Registration

N2190S

Category

Balloon

Operator

Not recorded

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Business

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Albuquerque → Albuquerque

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

DEN04LA006

2 people were seriously injured.

the pilot's failure to maintain aircraft control during a high-wind landing, resulting in a hard landing, the subsequent tipping of the balloon's basket, a post impact flash fire, and the ejection of two passengers. Contributing factors include the high wind conditions and the rough/uneven terrain.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

According to the pilot, he prepared for landing and descended the balloon to check the winds. He noticed that the winds had increased to "16 to 22 mph," so he decided to climb back up and look for a larger area in which to land. He briefed his passengers and prepared them for a high-wind landing. As the balloon descended, it came out of the "12 to 14 mph winds into 16 to 20 mph winds." The pilot said he had to "burn hard" to control the balloon as it came into the faster winds. When the balloon leveled out at approximately 2 feet off the ground, he pulled hard on the vent line. However, at that time, he "didn't turn off the pilot lights, because I [he] knew that with all the extra heat, it was going to bounce up." When the balloon struck the ground, it bounced approximately 20 feet into the air. On the second touchdown, the pilot turned off the pilot light. As the balloon slid across the ground, the basket rotated approximately 90 degrees and then tumbled on its side. When the basket tumbled, the pilot felt a "flash back from the burner." At that point, the pilot noticed that two passengers had been thrown from the basket. One of them had caught her foot on the basket and the balloon was dragging her across the ground. The balloon came to a stop approximately 800 feet from the first touchdown point. The pilot stated that when he went back to the balloon, he identified that "both pilot lights were off" and he found a "jacket wrapped around the blast valve handle." Although three passengers were not injured, the pilot, and one passenger received minor injuries, and six passengers were seriously injured.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.