Ultramagic Sa N 300 N64EX

Summary

On 28 March 2018 at about 15:30 local time, a Ultramagic Sa N 300 registered N64EX was involved in an accident near Cave Creek, Arizona, United States. 13 people were on board and nobody was injured. The aircraft was destroyed. The NTSB has published a probable cause for this accident; it is quoted in full below.

Date

28 March 2018 at 15:30

Classification

Accident

Location

Cave Creek, Arizona, United States

Coordinates

33.7981, -112.0064

Aircraft

Ultramagic Sa N 300

Registration

N64EX

Category

Balloon

Year built

2016

Operator

Not recorded

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Business

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Phoenix → Cave Creek

Aircraft damage

Destroyed

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

GAA18CA185

Nobody was injured.

The balloon pilot’s decision to add heat to the envelope with a tree branch protruding into the envelope that caught fire.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

The pilot reported that, during landing, the balloon came to rest pressing against a small tree. He added that when he applied heat to the envelope to reposition the balloon for deflation, a small hole appeared in the fabric and a small tree branch protruded into the envelope. Upon adding the heat, the tree branch inside the envelope caught fire causing the envelope fabric to catch fire. The passengers exited the basket, two fire extinguishers were deployed in an attempt to extinguish the fire, but the basket and envelope were consumed by the fire. The pilot reported that there were no preaccident mechanical failures or malfunctions with the balloon that would have precluded normal operation.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.