Balloon Works FIREFLY 9B-15 N9087Z

Summary

On 17 January 2007 at about 16:04 local time, a Balloon Works FIREFLY 9B-15 registered N9087Z was involved in an accident near Peoria, Arizona, United States. 5 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.

Date

17 January 2007 at 16:04

Classification

Accident

Location

Peoria, Arizona, United States

Coordinates

33.7794, -112.1825

Aircraft

Balloon Works FIREFLY 9B-15

Registration

N9087Z

Category

Balloon

Operator

Not recorded

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Other Work Use

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Peoria → Unknown

Aircraft damage

Not recorded

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

LAX07CA071

1 person was seriously injured.

The balloon’s inadvertent encounter with a downdraft, which resulted in a hard landing.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

A passenger was injured during a hard landing. The balloon pilot stated that he had selected a landing area on the west side of a highway, notified his ground crew of the location, and briefed the four passengers for landing. He was at an altitude of 200 feet agl with a descent rate of 200 fpm when the balloon encountered a downdraft. The pilot stated that he lit both burners in an attempt to arrest the rate of descent, notified the passengers to be prepared for a rough landing, and began to vent hot air from the balloon envelope to prevent a bounced landing. Upon contact with the ground, the basket tipped over and one of the passengers was tossed out. The balloon was now lighter without the passenger, rose back into the air, and drifted beyond intended landing zone. The pilot continued to the next closest suitable landing area and successfully landed the balloon. The ground crew located the passenger that had been tossed out of the basket. The passenger, who had sustained serious injuries, received medical attention and was transported to the hospital. The pilot reported that the local winds in the landing area were 180 degrees at 18 knots, and that there had been no mechanical failures or malfunctions during the flight. The METAR at the closest airport, approximately 20 miles southeast of the accident location, recorded the wind as calm for the local time of 0853.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.