Aerostar S81A N5069B
17 July 2007 · Custer, South Dakota, United States · Serious injuries
Summary
On 17 July 2007 at about 13:15 local time, a Aerostar S81A registered N5069B was involved in an accident near Custer, South Dakota, United States. 13 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 13:15
- Classification
- Accident
- Location
- Custer, South Dakota, United States
- Coordinates
- 43.7601, -103.6006
- Aircraft
- Aerostar S81A
- Registration
- N5069B
- Category
- Balloon
- Operator
- Not recorded
- Operating rule
- Part 91: General Aviation
- Purpose of flight
- Other Work Use
- Phase of flight
- Not recorded
- Route
- Custer → Unknown
- Aircraft damage
- Not recorded
- Weather
- VMC
- Light
- Day
- NTSB number
- CHI07LA317
People
1 person was seriously injured.
| On board | Died | Serious | Minor | Uninjured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 13 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 12 |
Probable cause
The high wind during landing. Contributing to the accident was the encounter with adverse weather during the flight.
Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record. This site does not paraphrase or interpret it.
Read the full NTSB narrative
The pilot reported that at the time of the balloon launch, the winds were calm, but during landing the winds were "a little stronger than forecast but nothing unusual for the Hills..." He stated that he briefed the passengers for a windy landing, and the balloon landed "...going to 10-12 mph." The basket then tipped over on its side and slid 20 feet across grass and a "few" rocks. The passenger reportedly received a broken ankle during landing.
Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.
Other Aerostar S81A accidents
| Date | Aircraft | Location | Operator | Outcome | Died |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 20 Sep 2007 | Aerostar S81A | Hartsel, Colorado, United States | Colorado Rocky Ballooning, LLC | Serious injuries | - |
| 23 Jul 2003 | Aerostar S81A | Highland, Michigan, United States | - | Serious injuries | - |
| 2 Aug 2012 | Aerostar S81A | Colorado Springs, Colorado, United States | Marketing Services Inc of Pueblo | Serious injuries | - |
| 10 Oct 2001 | Aerostar S81A | Albuquerque, New Mexico, United States | - | Serious injuries | - |
| 23 May 1998 | Aerostar S81A | Strasburg, Pennsylvania, United States | - | Serious injuries | - |
Other accidents in this area
| Date | Aircraft | Location | Operator | Outcome | Died |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 19 May 2007 | Cessna A188 | Scotland, South Dakota, United States | - | No injuries | - |
| 22 Jan 2007 | Piper J3C-65 | White Lake, South Dakota, United States | - | No injuries | - |
| 29 Oct 2007 | Cessna 172R | Brookings, South Dakota, United States | South Dakota State University | No injuries | - |
| 15 Jul 2007 | Cessna 180 | Madison, South Dakota, United States | - | No injuries | - |
| 30 Jul 2007 | Christen A-1 | Elm Springs, South Dakota, United States | - | Minor injuries | - |
| 19 May 2007 | Thrush S2RHG-T65 | Tyndall, South Dakota, United States | - | Fatal | 1 |