Firefly Balloons GALAXY 11B N2190S
27 July 2006 · Albuquerque, New Mexico, United States · Serious injuries
Summary
On 27 July 2006 at about 14:00 local time, a Firefly Balloons GALAXY 11B registered N2190S, operated by David E. Smith, was involved in an accident near Albuquerque, New Mexico, United States. 9 people were on board and one was seriously injured, one had minor injuries. 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
- 35.1533, -106.7867
- Aircraft
- Firefly Balloons GALAXY 11B
- Registration
- N2190S
- Category
- Balloon
- Operator
- David E. Smith
- Operating rule
- Part 91: General Aviation
- Purpose of flight
- Other Work Use
- Phase of flight
- Not recorded
- Route
- Rio Rancho → Unknown
- Aircraft damage
- Not recorded
- Weather
- VMC
- Light
- Day
- NTSB number
- DEN06CA108
People
1 person was seriously injured.
| On board | Died | Serious | Minor | Uninjured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 9 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 7 |
Probable cause
fuel exhaustion, resulting in the pilot's inability to relight one of two burners, and resulting in a hard landing.
Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record. This site does not paraphrase or interpret it.
Read the full NTSB narrative
The pilot reported that they had been aloft for about 45 minutes. The wind had shifted several times and he decided to land in an open field. There were power lines that bordered the field. The pilot ascended to clear the power lines but the wind shifted again and carried the balloon toward trees and the Rio Grande. The pilot vented the balloon "less than 30 feet above the ground and did a steep end landing in less than 3 knots. The balloon came down with low impact, bounced once, about 3 feet and came to a stop upright." Passengers, however, told an FAA inspector that the pilot attempted to slow the descent by activating one burner of a two-burner system. He tried lighting the burner with a striker, but it would not stay lit due to insufficient fuel. The balloon landed hard and bounced. One passenger, who was holding on to a strap, fractured her arm when she struck it with her head.
Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.
Other Firefly Balloons GALAXY accidents
| Date | Aircraft | Location | Operator | Outcome | Died |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 9 Oct 2003 | Firefly Balloons GALAXY 11B | Albuquerque, New Mexico, United States | - | Serious injuries | - |
Other accidents in this area
| Date | Aircraft | Location | Operator | Outcome | Died |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 22 Apr 2006 | Aerostar RX 8 | Albuquerque, New Mexico, United States | - | Serious injuries | - |
| 22 Jul 2006 | Ayres S2R-G10 | Dexter, New Mexico, United States | - | Fatal | 1 |
| 24 Oct 2006 | Champion 7GCB | Farmington, New Mexico, United States | - | No injuries | - |
| 8 Mar 2006 | Boeing D75N1 | Santa Teresa, New Mexico, United States | - | Minor injuries | - |
| 2 Jan 2006 | Culver CADET LCA | Alamogordo, New Mexico, United States | - | Minor injuries | - |
| 6 Nov 2006 | Air Tractor AT-502A | Deming, New Mexico, United States | M and M Air Service Inc | Fatal | 1 |