PARKER, AZ, USA
N9033H
Balloon Works AX-8B
After about 15 minutes on a 'Hare and Hound' flight, the pilot noticed a drop in fuel pressure (while flying at a low altitude). He switched fuel tanks, but the balloon had begun to descend. The pilot attempted to stop the descent by using a good tank, but the balloon continued to lose altitude and landed hard on flat terrain, before the descent could be stopped. The pilot and other pilots reported low level wind shear in the area at the time. No mechanical malfunction was reported.
On March 1, 1997, at 0815 hours mountain standard time, a Balloon Works AX-8B, N9033H, owned and operated by the pilot, collided with the ground near Parker, Arizona, during a local pleasure flight. The balloon was not damaged and the pilot and one of two passengers onboard were not injured. The other passenger received a serious injury to the ankle. Visual meteorological conditions existed at the time. According to the pilot, after 15 minutes of flight, he noticed a drop in fuel pressure and switched to another tank with the balloon making a corresponding drop in altitude and change in direction. A continuous application of the burner blast valve did not stop the rate of descent and a hard landing occurred. The pilot stated that the loss of the propane fuel pressure in the number 2 tank just prior to the changeover to the number 4 tank, along with a wind shear, caused the balloon to collide with the ground. Wind shears were reported by several balloonists upon debriefing their flights later that morning. The pilot operator report did not indicate a mechanical malfunction or failure.
the pilot's inadequate in-flight planning, which resulted in an excessive descent and subsequent hard landing, due to a drop in fuel pressure along with shifting winds at low altitude.
Source: NTSB Aviation Accident Database
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