NTSB Factual Report

HISTORY OF FLIGHT

On June 10, 2016, about 2030 eastern daylight time, a Cameron Balloons US A-225, N69515, unintentionally lifted off after landing in a field in Nunda, New York. A ground crewmember was fatally injured in a fall after he attempted to secure the basket, and the commercial pilot was uninjured. The balloon was not damaged. The balloon was owned and operated by the pilot, who was doing business as Balloons Over Letchworth. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed, and no flight plan was filed for the sightseeing flight that was operating under Title 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91. The flight originated from Letchworth State Park, Castile, New York, about 1930.

The pilot reported that the flight with 10 passengers lasted about 45 minutes with wind from the northwest between 3 and 5 mph. During the descent, the pilot contacted the ground crew and determined a suitable location for landing, which was a cut hay field. Immediately after landing, the passengers disembarked one at a time as the balloon remained inflated but weighed down by four ground crew employees. After the passengers got out of the basket, the ground crew began to "walk" the inflated balloon over to the cart where the deflation and disassembly would take place. The pilot remained in the basket during this process.

The pilot reported that as the balloon was being ground handled, he bent over and began unclasping the vent lines. As he looked up, he saw that the balloon was ascending and drifting toward a nearby hedgerow. The pilot operated the burners to get over the trees and a transmission line. During the ascent, about 150 to 200 ft above ground level (agl), he heard his name being called but thought it was his radio. When he heard his name called again, he realized that one of the ground crewmembers was hanging from ground handling ropes attached to the bottom sides of the basket. The pilot reported that he could not see the crewmember because he was in the middle of the basket near the controls and that the basket was padded, which made it hard for him to hear the crewmember. As the pilot was venting the balloon, he told the crewmember to hold on and that he would get him down safely, and the crewmember acknowledged. Several moments later, about 100 to 150 ft agl, the crewmember fell from the basket. The pilot radioed the rest of the crewmembers to call 911 and landed the balloon about 1/2 mile southwest of the original landing location and 800 ft from where the crewmember fell.

One of the uninjured crewmembers reported that, after the passengers egressed, they were moving the basket toward the cart for about 10 seconds when the balloon lifted off suddenly. When the balloon became too high to hold, all of the crew, excluding one ground crewmember, let go. Another uninjured ground crewmember stated that, "we are taught to let go of the basket if it starts going back up again, which I did. I noticed [a ground crewmember] was still holding onto the bottom rope." He watched as the ground crewmember ascended with the basket.

Additional witnesses reported that they saw several ground crew members, including two additional passengers attempt to get control of the basket after the passengers had disembarked. When it lifted off the ground, everyone let go except for one person. According to one of the witnesses, as the basket rose to chest level, one person grabbed onto the loops at the bottom of the basket and was carried into the air quickly before he fell.

PERSONNEL INFORMATION

According to Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) records, the pilot, age 63, held a commercial pilot certificate with a rating for lighter than air. He did not possess nor was he required to possess an FAA medical certificate. The pilot reported that he had accrued 2,569 total hours of flight experience with 8 hours in the accident balloon make and model. In the previous 90 days and 30 days, he had accumulated 14 hours and 10 hours flight experience, respectively. His most recent flight review was conducted on March 3, 2015.

The pilot's most recent ground training, the Great Eastern Balloon Association's (GEBA) 7-hour continuing education seminar called "Spring Training for Balloonists," was completed on March 5, 2016. The previous year, he participated as an instructor at the 2015 GEBA continuing education seminar.

The ground crewmember, age 34, had several years of experience in hot air balloon operations and was hired by the pilot to train, recruit, schedule, and lead ground crews. His background included prior experience with another hot air balloon operator in a similar capacity. On March 5, 2016, he attended the same GEBA training event as the pilot.

The pilot stated that ground crewmembers were "taught that if the balloon lifts their feet off of the ground, to release the balloon" and that the fatally-injured ground crewmember had "taught other crew members same."

AIRCRAFT INFORMATION

According to FAA records and the manufacturer, the balloon was manufactured in 2016 and was issued a standard airworthiness certificate on April 15, 2016. The pilot took possession on April 19, 2016 and conducted his first flight in the balloon on May 11, 2016. The balloon had accumulated 8 hours of time as of the date of the accident. The balloon had a volume of 225,000 cubic ft. The rectangular basket was partitioned and had a passenger capacity of up to 16 passengers and was equipped with dual burners. There were 16 rope handles along the bottom perimeter of the basket, 3 on each short side and 5 on each long side.

METEOROLOGICAL INFORMATION

At 2054, the reported weather conditions at Dansville Municipal Airport (DSV), Dansville, New York, located 12 statute miles west of the accident site, included wind from 180° at 3 kts, visibility 10 statute miles, and sky clear. The temperature and dew point were 16° and 7° Celsius, respectively, and the altimeter setting was 30.04 inches of mercury.

MEDICAL AND PATHOLOGICAL INFORMATION

The Office of the Medical Examiner, Monroe County, New York performed an autopsy on the ground crewmember. The autopsy report noted the cause of death as blunt impact injuries of head, torso, and extremities. The FAA Bioaeronautical Science Research Laboratory, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, performed toxicological testing on the ground crewmember. The results were negative for alcohol and common drugs of abuse.

NTSB Probable Cause

The ground crewmember's failure to let go of the balloon's basket when the balloon began to ascend. Contributing to the accident was the pilot's failure to maintain control of the balloon after landing, which resulted in an inadvertent takeoff.