Adams Balloon A55S N4010K

Summary

On 30 January 2026 at about 16:30 local time, a Adams Balloon A55S registered N4010K was involved in an accident near Durango, Colorado, United States. 4 people were on board. The NTSB has published a probable cause for this accident; it is quoted in full below.

Date

30 January 2026 at 16:30

Classification

Accident

Location

Durango, Colorado, United States

Nearest airport

N/A

Coordinates

37.3833, -107.8500

Aircraft

Adams Balloon A55S

Registration

N4010K

Category

Balloon

Year built

2017

Operator

Not recorded

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Personal

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Durango → Durango

Aircraft damage

Not recorded

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

CEN26LA108

Injuries not recorded.

The ground crewmember’s failure to immediately let go of the balloon after it began an inadvertent climb while landing.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

The pilot reported that the hot air ballon flight lasted about 45 minutes and covered a distance of about 1.2 miles at 1,000 ft above ground level. During landing, a person assisting with recovery of another balloon came over to assist with recovery of the accident balloon. She grabbed the edge of the basket upon initial contact with the ground in an attempt to stabilize the balloon. However, the basket subsequently lifted off the ground 4 to 5 ft before coming to a stop. As the balloon became airborne again, the person assisting lost her hold on the basket and fell to the ground. The person did not initially seek medical treatment, but later in the day, she was diagnosed with a broken leg. There was no damage to the balloon, nor were there any injuries to the pilot and two passengers onboard.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.