ASN Wikibase Occurrence # 273982
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| Date: | Saturday 6 April 2019 |
| Time: | |
| Type: |  Ultramagic N-500 |
| Owner/operator: | Balloon Adventures Emirates |
| Registration: | A6-BOY |
| MSN: | |
| Fatalities: | Fatalities: 0 / Occupants: 23 |
| Aircraft damage: | Substantial |
| Category: | Accident |
| Location: | Dubai -
 United Arab Emirates
|
| Phase: | Landing |
| Nature: | Passenger - Non-Scheduled/charter/Air Taxi |
| Departure airport: | Marqab |
| Hatta Road, Dubai | |
| Investigating agency: | GCAA |
| Confidence Rating: |  Accident investigation report completed and information captured |
On 6 April 2019, at approximately 05:30 local time, an Ultramagic N-500 Balloon, registration mark A6-BOY, operated by Balloon Adventures Emirates LLC, ascended to operate a commercial sightseeing flight from Marqab to Hatta Road, Dubai. The balloon was the third in a formation flight of four balloons. There were 23 persons on-board, comprising the pilot and 22 passengers.
During the approach to the landing site, the wind speed was 16 knots. The wind suddenly shifted through approximately 90 degrees and was coming from a southeast. Four minutes before landing, the wind speed dropped to eight knots, and during the final approach, the wind speed increased again to 17 knots. The pilot started to use the red line fast deflation system (FDS) to get the balloon on the ground by removing the excessive hot air from the envelope. The balloon floated over several obstacles and did not touch down in the planned flat area. Instead, it continued flying close to the ground, a corner of the basket contacted the tip of a dune, and the basket was tipped onto its side.
The basket then touched down on the uphill side of a second dune, which stopped its further movement. This abrupt contact of the basket with the dune during the touchdown phase resulted in passengers coming into sudden contact with each other, which caused injuries to three passengers.
The passengers disembarked from the basket independently without assistance. The three injured passengers were transported to the nearest hospital, and following preliminary medical tests, two passengers who had experienced minor
injuries were released immediately. One passenger who was seriously injured was hospitalized.
Causes
The Air Accident Investigation Sector determines that the cause of the Accident was the rapid wind shift and wind speed changes prior to touchdown followed by an uncontrollable Balloon condition caused by a corner of the basket contacting a dune just before touchdown.
Contributing Factors to the Accident:
The Air Accident Investigation Sector identifies the following contributing factors to the Accident:
(a) The Pilot action using the red line at the descent was too slow, which led to the basket hitting the tip of a sand dune instead of touching down in the intended flat area prior.
(b) The captain did not align the basket with the landing direction, and the basket touched down with its corner of the short side.
Accident investigation:
 |
|
Sources:
GCAA
Revision history:
| Date/time | Contributor | Updates |
|---|---|---|
| 10-Jan-2022 18:24 | harro | Added |
| 10-Jan-2022 19:00 | harro | Updated [Aircraft type, Narrative] |
Corrections or additions? ... Edit this accident description
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