Balloon Works FIREFLY F-15 N2571F

Summary

On 9 April 2000 at about 14:15 local time, a Balloon Works FIREFLY F-15 registered N2571F, operated by Marta C. Pritchard, was involved in an accident near Anthony, New Mexico, United States. 3 people were on board and nobody was injured. The aircraft was substantially damaged. The NTSB has published a probable cause for this accident; it is quoted in full below.

Date

9 April 2000 at 14:15

Classification

Accident

Location

Anthony, New Mexico, United States

Coordinates

31.9495, -107.0191

Aircraft

Balloon Works FIREFLY F-15

Registration

N2571F

Category

Balloon

Operator

Marta C. Pritchard

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Personal

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

DEN00LA071

Nobody was injured.

Failure by the pilot to keep the burner operating until the balloon was secured. A factor was the passengers disregarding the instructions they had been given by the pilot.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record. This site does not paraphrase or interpret it.

Read the full NTSB narrative

Following landing, and prior to the balloon being secured to the ground, the pilot shut down the burner and the passengers egressed from the basket contrary to the pilot's instructions, which were to stay in the basket until she told them to exit. As a result of the decrease in weight, the balloon lifted off and drifted into power lines. Because the burner was shut down, the pilot had no control in the vertical plane.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.