On December 22, 1996, at 0850 mountain standard time, an Aerostar RX-8 hot air balloon, N6310T, was not damaged during a hard landing near Rio Rancho, New Mexico. The commercial pilot and two of the passengers were not injured; however, a third passenger sustained serious injuries. The balloon was registered to and operated by a private owner under Title 14 CFR Part 91. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed for the cross country commercial flight which originated from the Albuquerque Balloon Park in Albuquerque, New Mexico, approximately 60 minutes before the accident. No flight plan was filed. The pilot reported in the NTSB Pilot/Operator Report that she received a weather briefing at approximately 0610 that morning from the Albuquerque FSS. The pilot reported that the balloon flight began at 0750 with "winds at approximately 6 knots or less." Approximately 3 to 4 miles northwest of the launch site, the pilot "lowered the balloon to river level and drifted along at 2 to 3 miles per hour for 20 to 30 minutes." The pilot reported that as the balloon climbed from the river valley the wind shifted to 210 degrees and increased to 15 to 20 MPH. She further reported that it took her approximately 20 minutes to locate a "safe" landing area and by then the wind speed had increased to 20 to 25 MPH. Upon landing, the pilot "deployed the deflation port," but the impact was such that two passengers were "bounced out of the basket." One of the passengers fell forward and was seriously injured due to being "run over" by the basket.