Lindstrand Balloons 90A accident near Cottonwood, AZ
On October 16, 2010, a Lindstrand Balloons 90A (balloon) was involved in an accident near Cottonwood, AZ. 3 people were seriously injured. Damage to the aircraft: substantial.
- Date
- October 16, 2010
- Place
- Cottonwood, AZ
- Aircraft
- Lindstrand Balloons 90A · Balloon
- Injuries
- 0 fatal, 3 serious, 1 minor
- Damage
- Substantial
- Position
- 34.731°N, 112.028°W
- NTSB ID
- 20101016X21247
Official records · WPR11LA017
- Public docket: reports, statements and exhibits from the investigation
NTSB summary
On October 16, 2010, at 0737 mountain standard time, N807PW, a Lindstrand 90A balloon, sustained substantial damage following a midair collision with a single-seat unregistered powered paraglider near Cottonwood Airport, Cottonwood, Arizona. The pilot was operating the hot air balloon under the provisions of Title 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91. The balloon pilot sustained minor injuries and his two passengers sustained serious injuries. The pilot of the paraglider sustained serious injuries. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed and no flight plan was filed. Both aircraft departed from Cottonwood Airport. According to the balloon pilot, he was on a local area flight during Airport Appreciation Day. There were multiple hot air balloons flying in the area at the time. He saw the paraglider pilot maneuvering close to the balloon envelope. The balloon pilot waived his arms and shouted at the paraglider pilot that he was too close; however, the paraglider approached the balloon and descended. The paraglider flew into the side of the envelope, penetrating it. As the balloon and paraglider descended, they remained attached; the balloon pilot tried to decrease the rate of descent as much as possible. During the descent, the balloon pilot provided an emergency briefing to his passengers, and directed one of the passengers to transmit a distress call. At 100 feet, the pilot turned off the pilot lights and closed the fuel tank valves. The basket then impacted the top of a fence and came to rest in an asphalt parking lot. Following the accident, the paraglider pilot told
Probable cause
The paraglider pilot's failure to see and avoid the hot air balloon, which resulted in a midair collision.
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Browse: Arizona
Source: NTSB aviation accident database (US government, public domain). Findings may be preliminary or later revised by the NTSB. Not a complete global record.
