Aerostar S-81A accident near Custer, South Dakota, September 12, 2000
On September 12, 2000 at about 2:15 pm local time, a Aerostar S-81A (balloon), registered N9174Z, suffered minor damage in an accident near Custer, South Dakota. It was a business flight under general aviation rules (Part 91). 1 person was seriously injured; 11 others were unhurt. The weather was visual conditions (good weather).
The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
The ground crew's failure to maintain control of the balloon until all passengers were disembarked. A factor related to the accident was the gust of wind.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- September 12, 2000 · about 2:15 pm local time
- Place
- Custer, South Dakota · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- 1 person was seriously injured; 11 others were unhurt.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Aerostar S-81A
- Registration
- N9174Z · no longer on the register · serial 581A-3001
- Damage
- Minor damage
- Flight
- Business flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
A passenger fractured her leg while exiting the balloon. The passenger reported, "The basket bounced 3 or 4 times hard - one bounce approx 5'. The pilot ordered people to get out - one at a time. Passengers and ground crew were trying to hold the basket down. Everybody got off except me. Then a gust of wind took the balloon and tilted it over and I got out. It was at that point it broke my leg." The pilot reported that the passenger fractured her leg when she tripped after having exited the basket. He reported that after all the passengers were out of the basket, a small gust of wind carried the balloon about 100 feet into some power lines where it received several small holes.
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: rotorcraft: balloon
- Flight time: 2,170 hours in all; 400 in this make and model; 60 in the last 90 days; 20 in the last 30 days; 2,170 as pilot in command
- Medical certificate: Unknown
- Seat: unk
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 601 hours
- Last inspection: annual inspection, October 1, 1999; 81 hours since
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: (type not recorded); 0 hours total
The flight
- Flight plan: none
- Runway 0
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: from 270° at 7 knots
- Visibility: 10 statute miles
- Sky: clear
- Temperature: 147°F (64°C), dew point 99°F (37°C)
- Altimeter: 30.00 inHg
- Observation at 2:15 pm from CUT
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crew | 1 | |||
| Passengers | 1 | 10 |
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 N9174Z 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.