Aerostar S-81-A N9174Z
8 August 1995 · Custer, South Dakota, United States · Serious injuries
Summary
On 8 August 1995 at about 13:10 local time, a Aerostar S-81-A registered N9174Z was involved in an accident near Custer, South Dakota, United States. 8 people were on board and 2 were seriously injured, 6 had minor injuries. The aircraft was substantially damaged. The NTSB has published a probable cause for this accident; it is quoted in full below.
The record
- Date
- at 13:10
- Classification
- Accident
- Location
- Custer, South Dakota, United States
- Coordinates
- 43.7591, -103.6003
- Aircraft
- Aerostar S-81-A
- Registration
- N9174Z
- Category
- Balloon
- Operator
- Not recorded
- Operating rule
- Part 91: General Aviation
- Purpose of flight
- Business
- Phase of flight
- Not recorded
- Aircraft damage
- Substantial
- Weather
- VMC
- Light
- Day
- NTSB number
- CHI95LA262
People
2 people were seriously injured.
| On board | Died | Serious | Minor | Uninjured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 8 | 0 | 2 | 6 | 0 |
Probable cause
the pilot's inadequate evaluation of the weather conditions.
Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record. This site does not paraphrase or interpret it.
Read the full NTSB narrative
During the landing phase of a local sightseeing balloon flight, a sudden gust of wind forced the balloon across a road into trees, after which there was a hard landing. Twenty-five miles to the northeast of the accident site a weather observation 24 minutes after the accident reported a windshift and frontal passage.
Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.
Other accidents in this area
| Date | Aircraft | Location | Operator | Outcome | Died |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 20 Oct 1995 | Cessna 180G | Belle Fourche, South Dakota, United States | - | No injuries | - |
| 24 May 1995 | Air Tractor AT301 | Clark, South Dakota, United States | - | No injuries | - |
| 27 May 1995 | Cessna 337B | Lemmon, South Dakota, United States | - | No injuries | - |
| 17 Dec 1995 | Maule M-4 | Hot Springs, South Dakota, United States | - | Minor injuries | - |
| 7 Jun 1995 | Piper PA-34-200 | Rapid City, South Dakota, United States | - | No injuries | - |
| 29 Dec 1995 | Taylorcraft BC-12 | Winner, South Dakota, United States | - | Serious injuries | - |