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NTSB Report

July 25, 2014 · Cameron Balloons Us A-180 · N65059

Questa, NM

Overview

Report Status
Final with probable cause
Event Type
Accident
Date
July 25, 2014
Injury Outcomes
2 injuries (2 serious injuries), 7 uninjured
Location
Questa, NM
Aircraft
Cameron Balloons Us A-180 (2011)
Tail Number
N65059
Injuries
Serious
NTSB Number
CEN14LA397

The pilot reported that he was preparing to land the commercial balloon and was switching the burners' propane tanks when both burner pilot lights extinguished. The pilot tried to reignite a pilot light with the piezoelectric igniter, but, when he pushed the igniter button to generate a spark, it got stuck in the igniter sleeve. The pilot then took out his strikers to manually relight a pilot light, but he still could not relight it. At this point, the balloon was about 150 ft above the ground, and the pilot prepared the passengers for a hard landing. The balloon struck the ground hard, skipped, and traveled about 30 ft before coming to rest. Two passengers sustained leg fractures; the balloon was not damaged. The piezoelectric igniter had an adjustment screw that, if tightened too firmly, can cause the button to stick in the igniter sleeve when actuated. It is likely that the piezoelectric igniter was tightened too firmly, which caused the igniter sleeve to get stuck when the pilot attempted to use it to relight a pilot light. It is also likely that, during the pilot's attempts to manually relight a pilot light with the striker, he positioned the burner such that air moved over it, which prevented the pilot light from relighting.

NTSB Probable Cause

The hard landing after both burner pilot lights extinguished during the landing approach. Contributing to the accident was the pilot's inability to relight the burner pilot lights.

Full Narrative

On July 25, 2014 about 0740 mountain daylight time, a Cameron A-180 hot air balloon, N65059, made a hard landing near Questa, New Mexico. The pilot and 6 passengers were not injured; however, two additional passengers sustained serious injuries. The balloon was not damaged. The balloon was registered to and operated by the pilot as a 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91 flight. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed for the local flight which was being operated without a flight plan. The flight originated at Taos, New Mexico at 0700. The pilot reported that he was preparing to land the commercial balloon and was switching propane tanks to the burners when both burner pilot lights went out. The pilot tried to reignite a burner with the piezoelectric igniter, but when he pushed it in to generate a spark, the igniter failed to light the pilot light and the igniter button got stuck in the igniter sleeve. The pilot took out his strikers to relight the pilot light, but could not get it relit. At this point, the balloon was about 150 feet above the ground and the pilot prepared the passengers for a hard landing. The balloon struck the ground hard, skipped, and traveled about 30 feet before coming to rest. At 0735, the Routine Aviation Weather Report for the Taos Regional Airport, about 7 miles south of the accident site, was wind calm, 10 miles visibility, clear skies, temperature 62 degrees F, dew point 43 degrees F, and altimeter 30.36 inches of mercury. The balloon was equipped with a Cameron Balloons model CB2075-2 Ultra Double burner system. According to the manufacturer, the piezoelectric igniter in the system works on the same principle as an electric igniter on a gas grill; when you depress the button, the igniter produces a spark which will ignite any gas vapor present. A spring within the button pushes it back out of the sleeve after the igniter produces the spark. The piezoelectric igniter has an adjustment screw on the side of the sleeve to provide resistance on the button as it is depressed. If the adjustment screw is tightened too firmly, it can cause the button to stick in the igniter sleeve when actuated. The only time such an adjustment might be made is during an inspection of the burner. There are no specific tolerances for tightness on the adjustment screw. As for why the pilot's attempt to relight the pilot lights using his manual strikers was unsuccessful, the manufacturer stated that depending on how the pilot had the burner gimbaled it could have allowed airflow across the burner in a way that prevented the relight from occurring.

Flight

Event TypeAccident
Event Time07:40 MDT
Nearest Airport0nm
Flight Plan FiledNone
Aircraft FireNo
Aircraft ExplosionNo

Aircraft

AircraftCameron Balloons Us A-180
Tail NumberN65059
Aircraft CategoryBall
Operating RulePart 91
Seats11

People & Injuries

Injury Summary2 injuries (2 serious injuries), 7 uninjured
Fatal0
Serious2
Minor0
Uninjured7
Total9
Crew 1Age 42 · None · None

Conditions

ConditionsVMC
LightDaylight
WindCalm
Visibility10 sm
CeilingNone
Temperature / Dew Point63 F / 43 C
Altimeter30.36 inHg
Observation Time13:35
Weather SourceWFAC

Appendix: Source Data