Balloon Works FIREFLY 7 N7408G

Summary

On 15 October 2007 at about 12:45 local time, a Balloon Works FIREFLY 7 registered N7408G was involved in an accident near East Hampstead, New Hampshire, United States. 5 people were on board and 2 were seriously injured, one had minor injuries. The NTSB has published a probable cause for this accident; it is quoted in full below.

Date

15 October 2007 at 12:45

Classification

Accident

Location

East Hampstead, New Hampshire, United States

Coordinates

Not recorded

Aircraft

Balloon Works FIREFLY 7

Registration

N7408G

Category

Balloon

Operator

Not recorded

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Aerial Observation

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Derry → Hampstead

Aircraft damage

Not recorded

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

CHI08CA017

2 people were seriously injured.

The pilot's excessive descent rate on approach, which resulted in a hard landing. Contributing factors were the adverse winds encountered during the flight, and the presence of the trees and power lines near the landing area.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

The balloon impacted trees and terrain during a hard landing. Two passengers sustained serious injuries, and one passenger sustained minor injuries. The remaining passenger and the pilot were not injured. The pilot reported that the flight departed with three other balloons in light winds. He noted the wind was forecast to increase about one hour after the flight was scheduled to land. However, about halfway through the flight, the wind increased to approximately 11 miles-per-hour, with some gusts. He elected to land when he noticed the increase in the wind speed. He executed three approaches, each time electing to go-around due to adverse winds. On the accident approach, he intentionally brushed the top of a tree in order to slow the balloon. He briefed the passengers for a hard landing and descended toward an open field. After the initial impact, the basket became airborne again briefly before coming to rest. The pilot stated that he did not use the burner to reduce the descent rate due to the possibility of drifting past the selected landing area and striking power lines adjacent to the field.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.