Pilot Debrief

CAMERON A-225 near Nunda, NY — 2016-06-11

Final reportERA16LA210
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Date
2016-06-11
Location
Nunda, NY, USA
Aircraft
CAMERON A-225
Registration
N69515
Category
Balloon
Highest injury
Fatal
Fatalities
0
Phase of flight
Ground

Probable cause

The ground crewmember's failure to let go of the balloon's basket when the balloon began to ascend. Contributing to the accident was the pilot's failure to maintain control of the balloon after landing, which resulted in an inadvertent takeoff.

NTSB narrative

At the end of a 45-minute sightseeing flight, the commercial pilot landed the balloon in a field, and the 10 passengers got out of the basket. The pilot remained in the basket and left the balloon envelope inflated while the ground crewmembers began to walk the balloon over to the cart for deflation and disassembly. Although the balloon was being weighed down and stabilized by four ground crewmembers, it started to ascend quickly. Two additional passengers joined in and attempted to hold down the basket, but it kept ascending. Three of the four ground crewmembers let go of the basket as they had been taught to do; however, one ground crewmember did not let go and was carried aloft. As the balloon rose, the pilot, who had bent down to unclasp the vent lines from the basket, looked up and became aware that the balloon was ascending and moving toward nearby trees and a powerline. He operated the burner to increase his rate of ascent so that he could climb over the obstacles. When the balloon was about 150 to 200 ft above the ground, the pilot became aware that the ground crewmember was hanging from the rope handles on the bottom of the basket. He began to vent the balloon to land, but the crewmember lost his grip and fell about 100 ft, resulting in a fatal injury. The balloon landed about 1/2 mile from the original landing site and 800 ft from the location where the crewmember fell.

Analysis

Primary failure mode
Human factors
First missed decision gate
Ground crew should have released the balloon immediately after passengers disembarked.

NTSB coding

Evidence available

  • Photos
  • 9 docket documents
View NTSB final reportView NTSB docket

Docket documents9

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