Colorado Aviation Accidents & Incidents

HISTORY OF FLIGHT

On June 8, 2013 about 0836 mountain daylight time, an Ultramagic S A, N-250 hot air balloon, N753ZF, impacted terrain during a high wind landing to an open area near Golden, Colorado. One passenger on board was seriously injured. Another passenger received minor injuries. The commercial rated pilot and 9 remaining passengers on board were not injured. The balloon was not damaged. The balloon was owned and operated by Adventure Balloon Sports, LLC, under the provisions of 14 CFR Part 91 as a business flight. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed at the time of the flight, which operated without a flight plan. The local flight originated from Gunbarrel, Colorado, about 0730.

The pilot said prior to the flight they had looked at the forecasted weather. There was a cold front to the north of them. He said he reviewed the weather information with the other pilots that were flying that day. At that time there was some wind, but it subsided around the time they were ready to fly. Everything looked good, but the pilot stated he did not want to be up in the air too long.

The pilot said they took off near the foothills. The plan was to drift eastward, but once they were up he noted that they were being pushed to the south. Then about 20 to 30 minutes into the flight the wind picked up. The wind was strong and was accompanied by up and down drafts. The pilot said they were moving fast and recalled seeing the balloon envelope collapsing on itself. The top of the envelope was not moving, but the bottom was making it concave, "sort of a question mark shape". The concave shape was causing heat and air to spill out. The pilot said he had to burn a lot to keep the balloon under control.

The pilot said he looked at the surface and saw the trees rustling. The wind speed was faster than he had expected. He said he watched another person who had been flying his balloon at the same time, land. He said he saw that balloon get dragged during the landing. After seeing that, the pilot decided he needed to get his balloon on the ground immediately. He noted there were large power lines south of where he was and he was headed that way. He needed to be on the ground before reaching them. He said he did not have time to worry about noise-sensitive areas or where his chase crew was. His concern at that time was safety. The pilot said he wanted to land in the biggest place he could find. That happened to be the Rocky Flats National Wildlife Refuge near Golden. He made his approach and landed about 0836. When he touched down, the basket tipped over and they were immediately dragged. The pilot pulled in the vent line to spill the air from the envelope. He said he had half of the air out and they were still moving fast across the ground. By the time the balloon came to a stop, he figured they had covered about 200 yards. The pilot said he checked his passengers before getting them out of the basket. One woman had a broken ankle. Another woman received