Cameron N105-NO SERIES N4113T
5 October 2013 · Albuquerque, New Mexico, United States · Serious injuries
Summary
On 5 October 2013 at about 13:05 local time, a Cameron N105-NO SERIES registered N4113T, operated by Taylor-Christensen TIM, was involved in an accident near Albuquerque, New Mexico, 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.
The record
- Date
- at 13:05
- Classification
- Accident
- Location
- Albuquerque, New Mexico, United States
- Coordinates
- 35.0847, -106.6511
- Aircraft
- Cameron N105-NO SERIES
- Registration
- N4113T
- Category
- Balloon
- Year built
- 1996
- Operator
- Taylor-Christensen TIM
- Operating rule
- Part 91: General Aviation
- Purpose of flight
- Personal
- Phase of flight
- Not recorded
- Route
- Albuquerque → Albuquerque
- Aircraft damage
- Not recorded
- Weather
- VMC
- Light
- Day
- NTSB number
- CEN14LA005
People
1 person was seriously injured.
| On board | Died | Serious | Minor | Uninjured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 |
Probable cause
The pilot's decision to land the balloon from a high approach altitude due to high winds, which resulted in a hard landing.
Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record. This site does not paraphrase or interpret it.
Read the full NTSB narrative
The pilot took off with several other balloons as part of that day's Dawn Patrol flight at the Albuquerque International Balloon Fiesta. Throughout the flight, the pilot changed altitude several times to find an average wind between 18 and 26 mph. The sun was coming up, and the pilot saw other Dawn Patrol pilots starting to land. As he descended to near-treetop level for his landing approach to a golf course, the balloon experienced a false heavy condition (when descending into a faster moving air mass or wind shear, the air flow over the balloon pulls the balloon down) in which the balloon descended sooner than the pilot wanted. He applied the burners to avoid a house and power lines. As the balloon came back down, the pilot saw that the wind was about 22 mph. The pilot and the two passengers got down in the basket in preparation for the high-wind landing. About 20 feet above the ground, the pilot shut off the burners, pulled open the vent, and the balloon hit the ground flat and square. The basket tipped over and dragged about 25 feet before stopping. About 13 minutes before the accident the weather conditions at the nearest aviation weather station included wind from 360 degrees at 9 knots.
Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.
Other Cameron N105 accidents
| Date | Aircraft | Location | Operator | Outcome | Died |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3 Feb 1990 | Cameron N105 | Littleton, Colorado, United States | Myles A. Prysby | No injuries | - |
Other accidents in this area
| Date | Aircraft | Location | Operator | Outcome | Died |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 7 Sep 2013 | Bell 206L-3 | Amistad, New Mexico, United States | State of Illinois | Minor injuries | - |
| 11 Feb 2013 | Bell 206B III | Ponderosa, New Mexico, United States | Aerowest Helicopter Svc | No injuries | - |
| 20 Apr 2013 | Cessna 175A | Albuquerque, New Mexico, United States | - | No injuries | - |
| 2 Jun 2013 | Schempp-Hirth VENTUS-2B | Corona, New Mexico, United States | Paynter G Frank | Minor injuries | - |
| 7 Sep 2013 | Cessna 180 | Gallup, New Mexico, United States | - | No injuries | - |
| 28 Apr 2013 | Cessna 195B | Albuquerque, New Mexico, United States | Ronald S. Harmon | Minor injuries | - |