NTSB Factual Report

On July 10, 2004 at 2020 eastern daylight time a Thunder & Colt LTD 210A, Hot Air Balloon, N91101, registered to and operated by the commercial pilot, collided with the ground during a precautionary landing in a field in Huntersville, North Carolina. The sightseeing flight was being operated under the provisions of Title 14 CFR Part 91, and visual flight rules. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed, and no flight plan was filed. The pilot and six passengers received minor injuries and one passenger received serious injuries, the balloon was not damaged. The flight originated from a field in Cornelius, North Carolina, on July 10, 2004 at 1950.

According to the pilot, he had called Hickory Flight Service and obtained a weather briefing. He said they departed from a field located at the intersection of NC Highway 115 and Highway 73, near Huntersville, and the balloon was drifting east at about two miles per hour. He stated that after about 30 minutes the wind began increasing to a speed of around 15 to 18 miles per hour, and he began looking for a place to land. He stated he bypassed several fields before he found a large open construction site. He started a descent towards the field and instructed his passengers to get down and brace for a hard landing. He said that just at touchdown the balloon caught a gust of wind and hit a small mound of dirt causing the basket to overturn causing the pilot and passengers to tumble out. The basket was dragged several feet before it came to a complete stop. The balloon and basket were not damaged.

NTSB Probable Cause

Gusty weather conditions which resulted in an in-flight collision with terrain during touchdown.