Balloon Works FF-7 accident near Roanoke, Virginia, September 14, 1986
On September 14, 1986 at about 10:50 pm local time, a Balloon Works FF-7, registered N7423H, suffered minor damage in an accident near Roanoke, Virginia (Roanoke Regal airport). It was a flight of an unrecorded kind under general aviation rules (Part 91). 1 person was seriously injured; 1 other was unhurt. The weather was visual conditions (good weather).
The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
The NTSB has not yet published a probable cause for this accident. Investigations usually take one to two years; this page updates when the final report is released.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- September 14, 1986 · about 10:50 pm local time
- Place
- Roanoke, Virginia · Roanoke Regal · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- 1 person was seriously injured; 1 other was unhurt.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Balloon Works FF-7
- Registration
- N7423H · no longer on the register · serial F7-338
- Damage
- Minor damage
- Flight
- Flight of an unrecorded kind · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
THE HOT AIR BALLOON WAS INVOLVED IN AN AIR SHOW FLIGHT EVENT. WHILE ENROUTE TO THE AIRPORT THE PLT STATED THAT HE ENCOUNTERED WINDS THAT FORCED HIM TO LAND SHORT OF THE ARPT. DURING THE LNDG APCH HE BECAME DISTRACTED BY SPECTATORS ON THE GROUND WHO WERE IN HIS FLIGHT PATH AND AS A RESULT DID NOT SEE POWER LINES IN TIME TO AVOID A COLLISION. THE COLLISION OCCURRED BETWEEN THE POWER LINES AND THE BALLOON SUSPENSION CABLES. THE CABLES WERE SEVERED AND THE BASKET SEPARATED FROM THE BALLOON AND THEN DESCENDED TO THE GROUND FROM A HEIGHT OF ABOUT 20 FEET.
The complete narrative as the NTSB published it. The NTSB's docket holds the report as a PDF and any photographs, statements and other documents from the investigation.
The factual record from the NTSB's investigation tables, in plain English
Pilot
- Certificate: commercial pilot
- Ratings: multi-engine land; single-engine land; instrument: airplane; rotorcraft: balloon
- Flight time: 760 hours in all; 568 as pilot in command
- Medical certificate: Class 2 (valid medical--no waivers/lim.)
- Seat: unk
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 28 hours
- Last inspection: annual inspection, July 9, 1986; 28 hours since
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: None T3-017 (type not recorded); 0 hours total
The flight
- Destination: ROA Roanoke VA
- Flight plan: none
- Runway 0
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: from 150° at 7 knots
- Visibility: 50 statute miles
- Sky: scat at 4,500 ft
- Temperature: 79°F (26°C), dew point 57°F (14°C)
- Altimeter: 30.00 inHg
- Observation at 6:00 pm from ROA
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crew | 1 | |||
| Passengers | 1 |
Documents from the investigation the NTSB's docket: the evidence folder behind the report
The docket, the folder of records gathered during an investigation (maintenance records, photographs, witness statements, examinations), has not been read from the NTSB for this case yet; the list appears here once it has. Open the docket at the NTSB.
Everything on this page comes from the NTSB's public records. The narrative, probable cause and findings are the NTSB's own words; the coded tables behind the report are written out in plain English, with pilots' ages, home towns and medical details left out. The documents and photographs are the NTSB's docket, shown as the NTSB released them. This site's own text never names anyone involved. A preliminary report can change; the final report usually follows one to two years later, and the page is refreshed when it does.