THE PLT OF A BALLOON AND HIS PAX EXPERIENCED A 'HIGH WIND' LNDG NEAR SEDONA; AZ.

Date: 2002-03 · Aircraft: Balloon · Phase: landing

Anomalies: flight-deck-cabin-aircraft-event-other-unknown|ground-event-encounter-loss-of-aircraft-control|inflight-event-encounter-unstabilized-approach

Synopsis

THE PLT OF A BALLOON AND HIS PAX EXPERIENCED A 'HIGH WIND' LNDG NEAR SEDONA; AZ.

Narrative

I LAUNCHED AT ABOUT XA55 FROM OUR LAUNCH SITE ON LOWER LOOP ROAD. I BRIEFED MY PAX ON WHAT TO EXPECT ON LNDG AND WHAT TO DO -- FACE THE DIRECTION OF TRAVEL; HANG ON TIGHT; BEND KNEES AND TO STAY IN THE BASKET UNTIL TOLD TO EXIT. I LIFTED OFF IN VERY NORMAL CONDITION FOR US AS USUAL AND STARTED FLOATING W AS NORMAL AT 1-2 MPH WINDS. MY ALT WAS 100 FT AGL FOR THAT TIME. AFTER ABOUT 30 MINS INTO THE FLT; THE WINDS SHIFTED TO THE N AT ABOUT 5 MPH. HAVE GONE THIS DIRECTION MANY TIMES OVER THE YRS OF FLYING IN SECOND. MY DIRECTION N WAS LINING ME UP WITH A SMALL FIELD ABOUT 1/8 MI AWAY FOR LNDG STILL AT 4-5 MPH. AT ABOUT 1-2 MINS BEFORE LNDG; THE WINDS WENT FROM 4-5 MPH TO 20.9 ACCORDING TO MY GPS; AND SHIFTED DIRECTION SLIGHTLY. IMMEDIATELY I SAW A SMALL OPENING IN THE TREES TO LAND AND DID SO. LANDED IN HIGH WINDS. 1 PAX (A SMALL GIRL 7 OR 8 YRS OLD) UPON LNDG; BUMPED HER LITTLE FINGER ON A FUEL TANK. EVERYONE ELSE WAS FINE. NO DAMAGE TO THE ACFT. AS A PRECAUTION; HAD THE GIRL CHKED OUT AT THE LCL MEDICAL CTR WHERE SHE WAS FOUND TO BE ALRIGHT; AND 2-3 MINS BEFORE LNDG I DID BRIEF ALL OF MY PAX ON WHAT TO DO UPON LNDG; AND THAT IT WAS GOING TO BE FAST AND HARD BECAUSE OF THE HIGH WINDS.

Source: NASA Aviation Safety Reporting System (public domain). Reports are voluntary submissions and are not verified by NASA.