Balony Kubicek Spol BB60Z accident near Fort Carson, Colorado, July 2, 2015
On July 2, 2015 at about 1:04 pm local time, a 2010 Balony Kubicek Spol BB60Z (balloon), registered N210GB, was involved in an accident during landing near Fort Carson, Colorado. It was a business flight under general aviation rules (Part 91). 2 people were seriously injured and 6 people had minor injuries. The weather was visual conditions (good weather).
The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
The pilot’s improper burner control, which allowed the balloon’s envelope to cool, and the balloon’s subsequent encounter with a drop in wind velocity during a high wind landing approach, both of which resulted in the balloon’s descent rate increasing too rapidly for the pilot to arrest it and led to a hard landing.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- July 2, 2015 · about 1:04 pm local time
- Place
- Fort Carson, Colorado · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- 2 people were seriously injured and 6 people had minor injuries.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Balony Kubicek Spol BB60Z, built 2010
- Registration
- N210GB · registry record · serial 779
- Damage
- Not recorded
- Flight
- Business flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
The commercial pilot checked the weather before the air tour balloon flight. The Colorado Springs Municipal Airport (COS) automated weather system reported that the surface wind was 070 degrees at 7 mph. A National Weather Service meteorologist informed the pilot that a front north of Denver was expected to pass through Colorado Springs about 6 hours after the flight was going to take off. The pilot also attempted to contact Lockheed Martin Flight Service (LMFS) twice without success; LMFS reported that, on the morning of the accident, it experienced an abnormally high call volume, which resulted in long wait/hold times. About 15 minutes before taking off, the pilot released a pilot balloon (pibal) from the launch site to check the wind aloft. At first, the pibal drifted toward the west slowly. However, when it reached about 1,000 ft above ground level (agl), it appeared to drift back toward the launch site. The pilot reported that he also noticed a slight breeze blowing in a tall treetop located on a rise south of the launch site. Before departure, the pilot rechecked the wind at COS, which was still 070 degrees at 7 mph. The balloon lifted off in calm wind conditions. However, as the flight continued, the balloon's groundspeed began to increase rapidly. About 22 minutes into the flight, a crew chief for another balloon company called the pilot and told him that COS was now reporting wind at 18 mph gusting to 26 mph. The pilot reported that he then began looking for a place to land and that, as he was doing this, the wind continued to increase to about 43 mph. The pilot located a large open field and set up for a high-wind landing, which involved descending to about 20 ft agl, at which point he intended to pull out the [parachute] top of the balloon envelope and make a steep, rapid descent to the ground. However, at 100 ft agl, the balloon encountered a drop in wind velocity from about 43 to 26 mph. The pilot had allowed the envelope to cool for the approach, which, along with the drop in wind velocity, caused the balloon's descent rate to increase rapidly. The pilot subsequently fully engaged the burners, but he was unable to arrest the descent, and the balloon impacted the ground hard. One passenger was ejected from the basket but was not injured. Two of the passengers remained in the basket but sustained serious injuries. Because the pilot had fully engaged the burners before it landed, the balloon lifted off again and ascended rapidly. The pilot regained control of the balloon, flew it to an open field, and subsequently conducted a controlled high-wind landing.
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
What happened, in order
- Other weather encounter during enroute
- Hard landing during landing defining event
The NTSB's findings
- cause Personnel issues › Task performance › Use of equip/info › Aircraft control › Pilot
- cause Personnel issues › Task performance › Use of equip/info › Use of equip/system › Pilot
- cause Aircraft › Aircraft oper/perf/capability › Performance/control parameters › Descent rate › Not attained/maintained
- cause Environmental issues › Conditions/weather/phenomena › Wind › High wind › Effect on operation
- Organizational issues › Support/oversight/monitoring › (general) › (general) › Meteorological service
Pilot
- Certificate: commercial pilot
- Ratings: rotorcraft: balloon
- Flight time: 4,128 hours in all; 1,100 in this make and model; 14 in the last 90 days; 6 in the last 30 days; 4,128 as pilot in command
- Last flight review: March 16, 2015
- Medical certificate: None
- Seat: none
- Injury: minor injuries
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 493 hours
- Last inspection: annual inspection, February 26, 2015
- Seats: 8
- Landing gear: fixed
The flight
- Departed from: Colorado Spring CO at 12:05 pm
- Destination: Colorado Spring CO
- Flight plan: none
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: from 010° at 27 knots, gusting 38
- Visibility: 10 statute miles
- Sky: clear
- Temperature: 63°F (17°C), dew point 57°F (14°C)
- Altimeter: 30.18 inHg
- Observation at 12:58 pm from FCS
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Flight crew | 1 | |||
| Passengers | 2 | 5 |
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.
Other NTSB records under N210GB the same tail number, which may have belonged to a different aircraft at the time
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.