History of Flight
On July 2, 2015, at 0704 mountain daylight time, a Balony Kubicek Spol Sro BB60Z ride balloon, registered N210GB, made a high-wind landing on a Fort Carson duded artillery range near Fort Carson, Colorado. The balloon was operated by High but Dry Balloons as a 14 CFR Part 91 air tour business flight. The flight originated from Colorado Springs, Colorado, at 0605 under visual meteorological conditions.
Before the flight, the pilot checked weather reports from Colorado Springs Municipal Airport (COS) and the National Weather Service in Pueblo, Colorado. At COS, the surface wind was reported as 070 degrees at 7 mph. The National Weather Service informed the pilot that a front north of Denver was expected to pass through Colorado Springs around noon. The pilot attempted to contact Lockheed Martin Flight Service twice but was unable to get through. About 15 minutes before takeoff, the pilot released a pibal from the launch site; initially it drifted westward slowly, but around 1,000 ft it appeared to drift back toward the launch site. He also noticed a slight breeze in a treetop on a rise south of the launch site. Before departure, he rechecked the winds at COS, which remained 070 degrees at 7 mph.
The balloon lifted off at 0605 in calm wind conditions. However, the balloon's speed began to increase rapidly. At 0627, while flying over the south entrance to COS, a crew chief from another balloon company called the pilot and reported that COS was now reporting winds at 18 mph, gusting to 26 mph, and discussed potential landing sites on Fort Carson. The pilot began looking for a landing site as the wind increased to 43 mph. He located a large open field on Fort Carson and set up for a high-wind landing, descending to about 20 ft above ground level, where he planned to pull out the parachute top of the envelope for a steep, rapid descent. However, at 100 ft agl, the balloon encountered a drop in wind velocity from 43 to about 26 mph, causing the descent to increase rapidly. The pilot engaged the burners fully but could not arrest the descent before impacting the ground hard. A male passenger was ejected from the basket but was not injured. Two female passengers in the basket sustained serious injuries. The balloon lifted off again, ascending rapidly. The pilot regained control and flew to an open field where a controlled high-wind landing was accomplished.
On-Board Recording Devices
A handheld Garmin GPS 12 receiver was on board and recorded the balloon's ground track. The data showed the balloon traveling south-southeast initially, then turning south-southwest, and landing on an artillery range at 0704:18, about 7 miles south of Butts Army Airfield (FCS). The average groundspeed was approximately 20 knots, with a maximum derived ground speed of 39 knots between two data points.
Video from a passenger's Samsung Galaxy S5 captured segments of the flight. At 0534, ground crew were inflating the envelope with a fan; no clouds were visible and treetops showed no wind. At 0545, hot inflation began with burners engaged. At 0632, the balloon was in flight with wind noise, and a female passenger said, "We're moving." At 0633, the camera looked up inside the envelope; a male voice said, "That must be the entrance to the base." At 0637, the balloon flew over an industrial facility; an exhaust cloud blew southwest, matching the balloon's direction. Treetops rustled. The pilot stated, "I'm haulin' butt. I have no idea where I'm goin'. I can see one fifteen though." He then said, "I'm in a big flat area. I'm gunna drop down and land so hang on." At 0738, the balloon was on the ground, and the pilot made statements including, "They lied about this front. [Maybe] they didn't lie about it but they were misinformed," and "The last I saw when I was landing was twenty six [knots]." At 0747, the accident site showed tall grass blowing in the wind.
Meteorological Information
At 0554, COS reported wind 030 degrees at 5 knots, few clouds at 11,000 and 18,000 ft, 25,000 ft broken ceiling, 10 miles visibility, temperature 57°F, dew point 53°F, altimeter 30.18 inHg. At 0640, COS reported wind 360 degrees at 16 knots gusting 25 knots, scattered clouds at 2,100 and 11,000 ft, 18,000 ft broken ceiling, 10 miles visibility, temperature 63°F, dew point 55°F, altimeter 30.24 inHg. At 0658, FCS reported wind 010 degrees at 27 knots gusting 38 knots, clear skies, 10 miles visibility, temperature 63°F, dew point 57°F, altimeter 30.18 inHg; a peak wind of 38 knots from 010 degrees occurred 53 minutes after the hour.
Lockheed Martin Flight Service reported an abnormally high call volume that morning due to an outage affecting the National Weather Service data feed for METAR reports, leaving many providers without current reports. A meteorologist at the National Weather Service in Pueblo stated that at about 0430, he took a call from the pilot and provided forecast wind information, including a VAD wind profile showing winds out of the south at 10 to 25 knots for the first few thousand feet. He told the pilot a cold front was racing southward from Denver, but stronger north winds would hold off until later in the morning. The Terminal Area Forecast for COS at 0520 indicated a wind shift and increase at 0900, from 360 degrees at 10 knots gusting 20 knots. The meteorologist later noted that fronts from the north often slow down or stall but occasionally accelerate; the front was moving faster than expected. He became concerned about 10 to 15 minutes after the call and mentioned to a coworker, "I hope he [the accident pilot] calls back." The front crossed the Palmer Divide around 0640 to 0650.