Aerostar S-60A N7154E

Summary

On 6 September 2011 at about 15:00 local time, a Aerostar S-60A registered N7154E was involved in an accident near Park City, Utah, United States. 3 people were on board and one was seriously injured, 2 had minor injuries. The aircraft was substantially damaged. The NTSB has published a probable cause for this accident; it is quoted in full below.

Date

6 September 2011 at 15:00

Classification

Accident

Location

Park City, Utah, United States

Coordinates

40.6697, -111.4047

Aircraft

Aerostar S-60A

Registration

N7154E

Category

Balloon

Operator

Not recorded

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Other Work Use

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Park City → Park City

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

WPR11CA435

1 person was seriously injured.

The pilot’s failure to maintain control of the balloon during the landing on uneven ground.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

According to the pilot, during the landing approach, she noted that the wind had changed direction and increased to about 5 knots. The pilot identified a suitable place to land, and, after clearing power lines, she made a steep approach. The balloon touched down on uneven ground and the basket tipped. The pilot was venting the balloon at the time and when the basket touched down, the vent line pulled her partially out of the basket. The basket dragged across the ground a few feet before becoming airborne again, and the pilot continued to hang onto the vent line. The two passengers then jumped out of the basket and the vent line was ripped out of the pilot’s hands. The balloon continued flight, unoccupied, and landed approximately 1/2 mile from the intended landing location. During the accident sequence, the balloon was torn and the skirt was burnt.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.