Raven S55A N40555

Summary

On 28 April 2001 at about 14:41 local time, a Raven S55A registered N40555 was involved in an accident near Albuquerque, New Mexico, United States. 2 people were on board and 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.

Date

28 April 2001 at 14:41

Classification

Accident

Location

Albuquerque, New Mexico, United States

Coordinates

35.1303, -106.7503

Aircraft

Raven S55A

Registration

N40555

Category

Balloon

Operator

Not recorded

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Personal

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Albuquerque → Albuquerque

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

DEN01LA092

1 person had minor injuries.

the pilot's failure to maintain a visual lookout during approach. A contributing factor was the power lines.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

The pilot was approaching to land the balloon in an open field. The pilot stated that she was "aware that there were power lines to the right," and she made altitude adjustments to maintain clearance. The pilot did not see additional power lines in the area until just before impact. The basket uprights contacted the wires. She opened the emergency dump valve and ventilated the envelope. The envelope became entangled in the power lines and was cut be in two. The basket then dropped approximately 30 to 40 feet. The broken power lines fell to the ground and burned a hole into the cement sidewalk.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.