Cameron Balloons Z-90 N65009

Summary

On 2 June 2022 at about 01:15 local time, a Cameron Balloons Z-90 registered N65009 was involved in an accident near Burlington, Wisconsin, United States. 3 people were on board and 3 were seriously injured. The aircraft was substantially damaged. The NTSB has published a probable cause for this accident; it is quoted in full below.

Date

2 June 2022 at 01:15

Classification

Accident

Location

Burlington, Wisconsin, United States

Coordinates

42.6712, -88.2681

Aircraft

Cameron Balloons Z-90

Registration

N65009

Category

Balloon

Year built

2017

Operator

Not recorded

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Other Work Use

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Burlington → Unknown

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

CEN22LA221

3 people were seriously injured.

The pilot’s selection of an inappropriate landing location and his failure to avoid an oncoming freight train, which resulted in the train colliding with and dragging the balloon.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

The pilot was making an approach from the southeast to land the hot air balloon on a road that paralleled railroad tracks. A freight train was traveling northbound on the tracks at the same time. The balloon initially touched down in a grassy area east of the road, between the road and the railroad tracks. The balloon skipped normally and stopped near the railroad tracks. The balloon envelope dipped as a result of being slightly deflated for the landing and caught on one of the uprights of an empty lumber car as it passed, which lifted the balloon off the ground and dragged it. As the balloon was dragged, the uprights, envelope, burners, and fuel lines separated from the basket and the pilot and passengers were ejected. The engineer in the engine cab immediately stopped the train. The basket came to rest inverted along the east side of the railroad tracks. The envelope climbed to 200 ft. and drifted north until it cooled and came to rest on the road, about 80 ft from the basket. The pilot misjudged the landing, which placed him too close to the railroad tracks and resulted in the balloon’s envelope being caught and the balloon being dragged by the freight train as it went by.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.