Cameron A-225 N69515

Summary

On 11 June 2016 at about 00:30 local time, a Cameron A-225 registered N69515 was involved in an accident near Nunda, New York, United States. 2 people were on board. One person on the ground also died. The NTSB has published a probable cause for this accident; it is quoted in full below.

Date

11 June 2016 at 00:30

Classification

Accident

Location

Nunda, New York, United States

Coordinates

42.5875, -77.9486

Aircraft

Cameron A-225

Registration

N69515

Category

Balloon

Year built

2016

Operator

Not recorded

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Aerial Observation

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Letchworth → Nunda

Aircraft damage

Not recorded

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

ERA16LA210

Injuries not recorded.

The ground crewmember's failure to let go of the balloon's basket when the balloon began to ascend. Contributing to the accident was the pilot's failure to maintain control of the balloon after landing, which resulted in an inadvertent takeoff.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

At the end of a 45-minute sightseeing flight, the commercial pilot landed the balloon in a field, and the 10 passengers got out of the basket. The pilot remained in the basket and left the balloon envelope inflated while the ground crewmembers began to walk the balloon over to the cart for deflation and disassembly. Although the balloon was being weighed down and stabilized by four ground crewmembers, it started to ascend quickly. Two additional passengers joined in and attempted to hold down the basket, but it kept ascending. Three of the four ground crewmembers let go of the basket as they had been taught to do; however, one ground crewmember did not let go and was carried aloft. As the balloon rose, the pilot, who had bent down to unclasp the vent lines from the basket, looked up and became aware that the balloon was ascending and moving toward nearby trees and a powerline. He operated the burner to increase his rate of ascent so that he could climb over the obstacles. When the balloon was about 150 to 200 ft above the ground, the pilot became aware that the ground crewmember was hanging from the rope handles on the bottom of the basket. He began to vent the balloon to land, but the crewmember lost his grip and fell about 100 ft, resulting in a fatal injury. The balloon landed about 1/2 mile from the original landing site and 800 ft from the location where the crewmember fell.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.