Aerostar RX8 N5294Q

Summary

On 10 October 2015 at about 15:40 local time, a Aerostar RX8 registered N5294Q was involved in an accident near Albuquerque, New Mexico, United States. 3 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

10 October 2015 at 15:40

Classification

Accident

Location

Albuquerque, New Mexico, United States

Coordinates

35.1805, -106.5906

Aircraft

Aerostar RX8

Registration

N5294Q

Category

Balloon

Year built

2001

Operator

Not recorded

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Personal

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Albuquerque → Albuquerque

Aircraft damage

Not recorded

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

CEN16LA030

1 person was seriously injured.

The pilot's delay in deflating the balloon envelope completely after landing, which resulted in a loss of control due to a wind gust.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

After 50 minutes of flight, the commercial pilot landed the balloon and waited for his ground handling crew to arrive. One passenger exited the basket and the pilot and second passenger remained in the basket. When the ground crew arrived, the second passenger and pilot were beginning to exit the basket when a gust of wind pushed the envelope and basket over to a 45° angle. The pilot asked the passenger to hold on and began pulling the envelope deflation line. After a few seconds, the wind shifted and rotated the basket. The pilot and passenger were tossed out of the basket onto the ground. The passenger fell, resulting in a fracture of her shoulder. The nearest weather reporting facility, located about 15 nautical miles from the accident site, reported wind at 12 knots. The pilot reported that the wind was variable at 3 knots and gusting to 14 knots. The pilot's delay in pulling the vent line completely and deflating the balloon envelope likely made the balloon uncontrollable when the wind gusted. The pilot stated that he should have had the passenger sit down in the bottom of the basket and should have had the ground crew person release the line when the wind shifted.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.