No fatalities

AEROSTAR INTERNATIONAL INC RX 8 accident at St. George, UT, 29 Nov 2020

St. George, UT, United States

On November 29, 2020, an AEROSTAR INTERNATIONAL INC RX 8 operated by SCOTT J. GNEITING was involved in an aviation accident near St. George, UT. No fatalities were reported. Investigators recorded the probable cause as: The pilot’s failure to maintain control of the balloon and a member of the ground crews entanglement with a tether rope, which resulted in a serious injury when they fell to the ground after the balloon unexpectedly ascended. This summary draws on records from NTSB; 12 related events involving the same aircraft type or operator are linked below.

SourcesNTSBPrimary reportUpdated 2026-08-03Data APIEditorial standards

Probable cause

The pilot’s failure to maintain control of the balloon and a member of the ground crews entanglement with a tether rope, which resulted in a serious injury when they fell to the ground after the balloon unexpectedly ascended.

— NTSB Determination

Contributing factors

PilotGround crew