Raven S-60A N4214A
15 July 1995 · Deerfield, Massachusetts, United States · Serious injuries
Summary
On 15 July 1995 at about 11:30 local time, a Raven S-60A registered N4214A was involved in an accident near Deerfield, Massachusetts, United States. 3 people were on board and one was seriously injured, 2 had minor injuries. The aircraft was destroyed. The NTSB has published a probable cause for this accident; it is quoted in full below.
The record
- Date
- at 11:30
- Classification
- Accident
- Location
- Deerfield, Massachusetts, United States
- Coordinates
- Not recorded
- Aircraft
- Raven S-60A
- Registration
- N4214A
- Category
- Balloon
- Operator
- Not recorded
- Operating rule
- Part 91: General Aviation
- Purpose of flight
- Business
- Phase of flight
- Not recorded
- Route
- Greenfield → Unknown
- Aircraft damage
- Destroyed
- Weather
- VMC
- Light
- Day
- NTSB number
- NYC95LA160
People
1 person was seriously injured.
| On board | Died | Serious | Minor | Uninjured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 0 |
Probable cause
The pilot's inadequate evaluation of the weather, which resulted in an encounter with unfavorable winds and an inflight loss of control. The unfavorable/high winds and sudden wind gusts were related factors.
Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record. This site does not paraphrase or interpret it.
Read the full NTSB narrative
The pilot arrived at a balloon festival at 0530 hours and obtained a weather briefing from three other pilots and the balloon meister. He determined that thunderstorms were due in the area at about 1000 hours. He departed with two passengers at 0620 hours. The pilot subsequently encountered a wind shift and strong gusting winds. He reported that the balloon throat closed due to the winds. After that, the balloon began descending and collided with trees. About 25 miles south at Westfield, Ma, the 0645 edt wind was from 090 degrees at 5 knots; at 0745 edt, the wind had changed to 360 degrees at 20 knots with gusts to 40 knots. About 60 miles northwest of the departure point at Albany, severe thunderstorms with heavy rain and wind squalls were reported at 0650 hours. The peak wind at Albany was reorted to be from 310 degrees at 67 knots at 0641.
Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.
Other Raven S-60A accidents
| Date | Aircraft | Location | Operator | Outcome | Died |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 21 Dec 1996 | Raven S-60A | Rio Rancho, New Mexico, United States | - | Serious injuries | - |
| 5 Jul 1993 | Raven S-60A | Coloma, California, United States | - | Serious injuries | - |
| 13 Jul 1993 | Raven S-60A | La Jolla, California, United States | - | Serious injuries | - |
| 4 Jul 1992 | Raven S-60A | Dover, Florida, United States | ROY W. Webster | Fatal | 1 |
| 2 Jul 1992 | Raven S-60A | Pecos, New Mexico, United States | Bond, Wayne & Chapel, Sally P. | Serious injuries | - |
| 8 Oct 1992 | Raven S-60A | Albuquerque, New Mexico, United States | Butterfield, Richard S. | Serious injuries | - |
Other accidents in this area
| Date | Aircraft | Location | Operator | Outcome | Died |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 22 Oct 1995 | Schweizer SGS 2-33 | Barre, Massachusetts, United States | Bouchard Gliders | Minor injuries | - |
| 3 Aug 1995 | Piper PA-28-236 | Rehoboth, Massachusetts, United States | - | Fatal | 1 |
| 27 Oct 1995 | Cessna 414A | Grt Barrington, Massachusetts, United States | - | No injuries | - |
| 13 Nov 1995 | Cessna 150J | Norwood, Massachusetts, United States | Norwood Air | No injuries | - |
| 26 Nov 1995 | Stinson 108-2 | Southbridge, Massachusetts, United States | - | Serious injuries | - |
| 26 Nov 1995 | Bellanca 8-KCAB | Sheffield, Massachusetts, United States | - | Serious injuries | - |