Aerostar RX8 N4014J
8 October 2009 · Albuquerque, New Mexico, United States · Serious injuries
Summary
On 8 October 2009 at about 15:30 local time, a Aerostar RX8 registered N4014J was involved in an accident near Albuquerque, New Mexico, United States. 3 people were on board and one was seriously injured. The aircraft was slightly damaged. The NTSB has published a probable cause for this accident; it is quoted in full below.
The record
- Date
- at 15:30
- Classification
- Accident
- Location
- Albuquerque, New Mexico, United States
- Nearest airport
- Albuquerque Intl Sunport (KABQ)
- Coordinates
- 35.1219, -106.6531
- Aircraft
- Aerostar RX8
- Registration
- N4014J
- Category
- Balloon
- Operator
- Not recorded
- Operating rule
- Part 91: General Aviation
- Purpose of flight
- Personal
- Phase of flight
- Not recorded
- Route
- Albuquerque → Albuquerque
- Aircraft damage
- Minor
- Weather
- VMC
- Light
- Day
- NTSB number
- CEN10CA015
People
1 person was seriously injured.
| On board | Died | Serious | Minor | Uninjured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 |
Probable cause
The pilot’s failure to select an adequate landing area.
Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record. This site does not paraphrase or interpret it.
Read the full NTSB narrative
After a morning balloon flight of more than one hour the private pilot was making her third attempt at landing. On the previous attempts a slight wind shift to the left was taking the balloon away from the target area and into unacceptable obstructions. The pilot said she was aware that “fuel was an issue” and she knew she did not have enough fuel to cross the congested downtown metropolitan area ahead. She picked a parking lot with one end empty of vehicles as her landing area. After crossing the wires on the edge of the parking lot she “ripped out pulling the vent line as far as (she) could”. The pilot joined her passengers at the bottom of the balloon's basket for the expected hard landing as balloon skidded across the parking lot and struck a concrete barrier. Becoming airborne again, the basket then struck and damaged a building and fell approximately six feet to the ground. One passenger sustained a fractured ankle. The other occupants were not injured and the balloon sustained minor damage.
Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.
Other Aerostar RX8 accidents
| Date | Aircraft | Location | Operator | Outcome | Died |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 10 Oct 2012 | Aerostar RX8 | Albuquerque, New Mexico, United States | - | Minor injuries | - |
| 10 Oct 2015 | Aerostar RX8 | Albuquerque, New Mexico, United States | - | Serious injuries | - |
| 13 Feb 2016 | Aerostar RX8 | Petaluma, California, United States | Sowers William H | Serious injuries | - |
| 22 Oct 2016 | Aerostar RX8 | Mount Ulla, North Carolina, United States | Up Up Away HOT Air Balloon Co | Serious injuries | - |
| 26 Nov 1995 | Aerostar RX8 | Rio Rancho, New Mexico, United States | - | Serious injuries | - |
Other accidents in this area
| Date | Aircraft | Location | Operator | Outcome | Died |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 9 Jun 2009 | Curtiss Moses AEROLITE | Los Lunas, New Mexico, United States | - | Serious injuries | - |
| 10 Jun 2009 | Agusta A109E | Santa Fe, New Mexico, United States | New Mexico State Police | Fatal | 2 |
| 5 Oct 2009 | Aerostar RX-7 | Albuquerque, New Mexico, United States | - | Serious injuries | - |
| 14 Oct 2009 | Cessna T210L | Albuquerque, New Mexico, United States | Suddarth Steven Craig | No injuries | - |
| 9 Mar 2009 | Grumman American Avn AA-1B | Golden, New Mexico, United States | Rupert Randal N | Fatal | 2 |
| 25 Dec 2009 | Beechcraft B35 | Santa Fe, New Mexico, United States | Cherwink David LEE DBA | No injuries | - |