Firefly Balloon FIREFLY 11 N15001

Summary

On 13 April 2005 at about 15:00 local time, a Firefly Balloon FIREFLY 11 registered N15001 was involved in an accident near Saint Helena, California, United States. 9 people were on board and one was seriously injured. The NTSB has published a probable cause for this accident; it is quoted in full below.

Date

13 April 2005 at 15:00

Classification

Accident

Location

Saint Helena, California, United States

Coordinates

38.5533, -122.4983

Aircraft

Firefly Balloon FIREFLY 11

Registration

N15001

Category

Balloon

Operator

Not recorded

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Other Work Use

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Calistoga → Saint Helena

Aircraft damage

Not recorded

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

LAX05LA143

1 person was seriously injured.

The pilot's encounter with wind shear during landing, which resulted in a hard touchdown.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

The balloon touched down hard at the conclusion of a sightseeing flight seriously injuring one of the eight fare-paying passengers. The pilot indicated that upon entering a wider area of the Napa Valley the winds aloft should have slowed, but they did not. Therefore, he decided to land as soon as possible, having the belief that the wind speed might increase if he continued the flight. During the descent to an open field, the balloon drifted over a row of estimated 30- to 40-foot-tall trees, and the wind speed suddenly increased to between 10 and 12 miles per hour. The pilot advised the passengers to prepare for a possible hard touchdown, and during the final seconds of the flight, he used both burners at maximum power to slow the descent rate. However, a windshear was encountered, and the balloon abruptly descended.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.