Ultramagic N425 N990BR

Summary

On 16 April 2012 at about 12:15 local time, a Ultramagic N425 registered N990BR, operated by Damien Mahony, was involved in an accident near Clermont, Florida, United States. 3 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

16 April 2012 at 12:15

Classification

Accident

Location

Clermont, Florida, United States

Coordinates

28.5506, -81.7692

Aircraft

Ultramagic N425

Registration

N990BR

Category

Balloon

Engines

1

Operator

Damien Mahony

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Other Work Use

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Orlando → Clermont

Aircraft damage

Not recorded

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

ERA12CA328

1 person was seriously injured.

The balloon passenger's failure to maintain her grip during landing, which resulted in a fall and injury to another passenger.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

At the completion of a balloon flight, the balloon touched down while moving at 4 mph and bounced. An adult passenger did not maintain her grip on the hand-holds and fell into another passenger, breaking that passenger’s wrist. According to the operator, the multi-passenger, partition-basket balloon was used for sightseeing flights. The passengers were given a briefing card and briefed at the operator's facility before being bused to the launch site, where a more detailed briefing was provided by the balloon’s pilot. The items briefed included the location of hand-holds and the proper stance at touchdown.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.