Balloon Works FIREFLY 9 N72345

Summary

On 30 March 2008 at about 14:30 local time, a Balloon Works FIREFLY 9 registered N72345 was involved in an accident near Questa, New Mexico, United States. 6 people were on board and 5 were seriously injured, one had minor injuries. The aircraft was destroyed. The NTSB has published a probable cause for this accident; it is quoted in full below.

Date

30 March 2008 at 14:30

Classification

Accident

Location

Questa, New Mexico, United States

Nearest airport

None

Coordinates

36.7064, -105.5931

Aircraft

Balloon Works FIREFLY 9

Registration

N72345

Category

Balloon

Operator

Not recorded

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Aerial Observation

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Taos → Questa

Aircraft damage

Destroyed

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

DFW08LA088

5 people were seriously injured.

The balloon's encounter with a wind gust/downdraft during landing, 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

The commercial pilot stated that he and the five passengers departed in his hot air balloon and drifted down a local gorge. The flight was normal until it was time to land. As the pilot descended to a large open grass field (where he has landed many times before), he told the passengers that they should bend their knees. When the balloon was about 20 feet agl, a large gust of wind caused the balloon to descend rapidly with a forward motion until it hit the ground. The impact was hard enough to eject four of the passengers and to break one of the burner can mounts, which caused it to point downward. The balloon then caught fire as it ascended approximately 30 feet high with the pilot and one of the passengers still onboard. The pilot said the he attempted to turn off the pilot light to the burner cans, but to no avail. He told the passenger not to jump, because the balloon was now starting to descend. The balloon then hit the ground again hard, and the pilot and the passenger were ejected. The balloon then bounced a few more times as it traveled north towards rising terrain where it became fully engulfed in flames and was incinerated. The pilot said that before the flight, he obtained weather information from the local airports and also released pilot balloons to determine wind direction. The winds were calm at the beginning of the flight and then "arced" toward the north-northwest while en route; however, he did not know the speed of the wind. Other wise, the weather as clear of clouds and unlimited visibility. The pilot stated that the balloon most likely encountered a roll cloud from the nearby ridge.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.