ASN Wikibase Occurrence # 65792
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| Date: | Saturday 13 June 2009 |
| Time: | 20:00 |
| Type: |  Aerostar RX-9 balloon |
| Owner/operator: | Handcrafted Furniture Balloon Rides LLC |
| Registration: | N9116M |
| MSN: | RX9-3013 |
| Total airframe hrs: | 348 hours |
| Fatalities: | Fatalities: 0 / Occupants: 5 |
| Aircraft damage: | Minor |
| Category: | Accident |
| Location: | Near Rib Falls, Wisconsin -
 United States of America
|
| Phase: | Landing |
| Nature: | Executive |
| Departure airport: | Marathon City, WI |
| Marathon City, WI | |
| Investigating agency: | NTSB |
| Confidence Rating: |  Accident investigation report completed and information captured |
The pilot and four paying passengers departed in a free air balloon. The local area surface weather observations indicated that the winds were consistently from the northwest at 6 – 8 knots. Around the time of the balloon launch, the winds were observed to be 300 degrees at 6 knots. About 3 minutes after liftoff, the balloon was heading 180 degrees at 10 knots about 800 feet above ground level. The winds on the ground suddenly increased to about 25 mph, and the balloon experienced strong wind gusts. The pilot reported that about 9 minutes after takeoff, a big wind gust “caved in” half the balloon and the mouth was “almost shut.” The pilot decided to get the balloon on the ground at the nearest suitable field, and instructed the passengers to prepare for a hard landing. The balloon hit hard, bounced in the air about 30 feet, and traveled about 200 feet before it hit the ground again. The balloon tipped on its side and one of the passengers partially fell out of the basket, but was restrained by the pilot and a passenger. The wind dragged the basket about 125 feet where the passenger fell out the basket and into a ditch. The basket was dragged about another 60 feet before it came to a stop in another field. The passenger was seriously injured. The balloon sustained minor damage.
Probable Cause: A hard landing as a result of unexpected high winds and gusts.
Accident investigation:
 |
|
Sources:
NTSB
Location
Revision history:
| Date/time | Contributor | Updates |
|---|---|---|
| 15-Jun-2009 20:19 | slowkid | Added |
| 16-Jun-2009 03:09 | RobertMB | Updated |
| 21-Dec-2016 19:25 | ASN Update Bot | Updated [Time, Damage, Category, Investigating agency] |
| 02-Dec-2017 15:35 | ASN Update Bot | Updated [Operator, Other fatalities, Nature, Departure airport, Destination airport, Source, Narrative] |
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