Lindstrand LBL-105G GBWOK
4 October 1999 · McAlester, Oklahoma, United States · Serious injuries
Summary
On 4 October 1999 at about 10:00 local time, a Lindstrand LBL-105G registered GBWOK was involved in an accident near McAlester, Oklahoma, United States. 2 people were on board and one was seriously injured, one 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 10:00
- Classification
- Accident
- Location
- McAlester, Oklahoma, United States
- Coordinates
- 34.9204, -95.7602
- Aircraft
- Lindstrand LBL-105G
- Registration
- GBWOK
- Category
- Balloon
- Operator
- Not recorded
- Operating rule
- Part 91: General Aviation
- Purpose of flight
- Unknown
- Phase of flight
- Not recorded
- Route
- Albuquerque → Unknown
- Aircraft damage
- Substantial
- Weather
- VMC
- Light
- Night/Dark
- NTSB number
- FTW00LA004
People
1 person was seriously injured.
| On board | Died | Serious | Minor | Uninjured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 |
Probable cause
The pilot's continued flight into known adverse weather, which resulted in a hard landing. Factors were the thunderstorms, dark night light conditions, and the high winds.
Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record. This site does not paraphrase or interpret it.
Read the full NTSB narrative
The balloon was participating in a long distance race and had been airborne for approximately 31.5 hours. The pilot had been aware of thunderstorms in the balloon's flight path for about 6.5 hours and had been attempting to track away from the storms, but was unable to do so. According to the pilot, the balloon was in level flight at 7,000 feet, above a cloud layer, when he initiated a precautionary landing to avoid an encounter with the thunderstorms. The balloon broke out at 1,280 feet agl in dark night light conditions. The balloon landed hard and then became airborne again reaching a height of 80 feet. During the second ground contact, the pilot was ejected from the basket, and subsequently, the basket 'dragged' over the pilot and then came to a stop. The pilot reported that the winds were from 360 degrees at 20 knots gusting to 22 knots. The pilot stated that 'improved met[eorological] information would have allowed a night landing to be made at 3 knots earlier rather than at 20 knots.'
Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.
Other accidents in this area
| Date | Aircraft | Location | Operator | Outcome | Died |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 17 Jan 1999 | Cessna 182B | Honobia, Oklahoma, United States | - | Fatal | 4 |
| 21 Jan 1999 | Waco YMF-5 | Edmond, Oklahoma, United States | Mitchell L. Madison | No injuries | - |
| 8 May 1999 | Grumman American AA-5B | Claremore, Oklahoma, United States | - | No injuries | - |
| 26 Jan 1999 | Cessna 172E | Guymon, Oklahoma, United States | Denny O'hara | No injuries | - |
| 16 Aug 1999 | Piper PA30 | Holdenville, Oklahoma, United States | Adventure Aero, LLC. | Fatal | 1 |
| 27 Dec 1999 | Mooney M20K | McAlester, Oklahoma, United States | John P. McDaniel | Fatal | 1 |