Raven S-66A N57194

Summary

On 16 March 2012 at about 15:00 local time, a Raven S-66A registered N57194 was involved in an accident near Avra Valley, Arizona, United States. 9 people were on board and 3 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

16 March 2012 at 15:00

Classification

Accident

Location

Avra Valley, Arizona, United States

Coordinates

32.4348, -111.3156

Aircraft

Raven S-66A

Registration

N57194

Category

Balloon

Operator

Not recorded

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Other Work Use

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Marana → Avra Valley

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

WPR12LA138

3 people had minor injuries.

The pilot's improper decision to partially open the balloon's vent before clearing a power line while landing, which resulted in the balloon descending too soon and contacting the power line.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

The pilot reported that the balloon was traveling 5 to 7 knots west toward a road oriented north-south with a power line running along the east side of the road. Beyond the power line and road was a large area of open desert where the pilot planned to land. When the balloon was about 100 yards from the lines at an altitude of about 300 feet above ground level, the pilot began setting the balloon up for landing by cracking open the vent-top of the envelope. The pilot operated one of the two burners to compensate for the expected loss of lift from the partly open top; however, the balloon began a slow descent instead of maintaining altitude, and the descent rate seemed to accelerate. In response, the pilot operated both burners and looked up at the top of the balloon, which he found was over a third open instead of the expected 2- to 3-foot crack. Realizing that the balloon’s glidepath would now result in the basket impacting the upper wire of the power line, the pilot decided to fully open the top of the balloon and land short of the power line. The balloon descended and impacted the power line wires with the basket suspension cables contacting more than one wire, which resulted in electrical arcing. The envelope folded over the wires, and the basket came to rest on the ground. The pilot stated that the accident could have been prevented by initiating the set-up for landing only after crossing the last obstacle before the landing area.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.