Louisville, KY, USA
N4024P
Lindstrand Balloons 77A
The ground crewman grabbed onto the basket of the balloon upon landing. As she did so, her feet slipped from under her on the wet grass, and the balloon lifted into the air. When the basket of the balloon reached about 8 feet above the ground, the crewman lost her grip, fell to the ground, and was seriously injured. The crewman stated that she held onto the basket only because she had lost her footing.
On September 24, 2005, at 0905 eastern daylight time, a Lindstrand 77A hot air balloon was undamaged during landing at Bowman Field Airport (LOU), Louisville, Kentucky. The certificated commercial pilot and the passenger were not injured, and a ground crewman was seriously injured. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed, and no flight plan was filed for the flight that originated from Bowman Airport. The personal flight was conducted under 14 CFR Part 91. A Federal Aviation Administration aviation safety inspector witnessed the accident and provided a statement. According to the inspector, the crewman grabbed onto the basket of the balloon upon landing. As she did so, her feet slipped from under her on the wet grass, and the balloon lifted into the air. When the basket of the balloon reached about 8 feet above the ground, the crewman lost her grip, and fell to the ground, where she broke her wrist and fractured her pelvis. The inspector described the balloon landing as "normal." He said that the crewman was experienced, and that she knew to release a balloon should it resume flight during a landing. He added that the ground crewman stated that she held onto the basket only because she had lost her footing.
The ground crewman's failure to release the basket of the balloon when it resumed flight during the landing phase. A factor in the accident was the wet grass at the landing site.
Source: NTSB Aviation Accident Database
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