Avian Balloon SKYHAWK accident near Albuquerque, New Mexico, October 5, 1996
On October 5, 1996 at about 12:45 pm local time, a Avian Balloon SKYHAWK, registered N47AV, was involved in an accident near Albuquerque, New Mexico. It was a personal flight under general aviation rules (Part 91). No one was hurt; 1 person was on board or involved. The weather was visual conditions (good weather).
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The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
The ground crew member's failure keep clear from the gondola during take off. A factor was the pilot's failure to insure crew coordination during take off.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 4, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- October 5, 1996 · about 12:45 pm local time
- Place
- Albuquerque, New Mexico
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 1 person was on board or involved.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Avian Balloon SKYHAWK · all SKYHAWKs on the register
- Registration
- N47AV · no longer on the register · serial 47
- Damage
- Not recorded
- Flight
- Personal flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
According to the pilot, the balloon was on a 'dawn patrol' demonstration. The crew members were holding to the gondola just prior to breaking ground. As the balloon became airborne, a crew member's hand became caught on one of the rope handles normally used by passengers. She was lifted up to about 20 feet AGL. Someone on the ground said, 'jump,' and she released the handle. Before impacting the ground, she contacted the side of another balloon that was being inflated. The pilot stated that he was not aware that the crew member was in distress.
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: 576 hours in all; 400 in this make and model; 10 in the last 90 days; 2 in the last 30 days; 576 as pilot in command
- Medical certificate: Unknown
- Seat: unk
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 405 hours
- Last inspection: annual inspection, March 11, 1996; 0 hours since
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: (type not recorded); 0 hours total
The flight
- Flight plan: none
- Runway 0
Weather at the time
- Light: dawn
- Wind: from 360° at 8 knots
- Visibility: 15 statute miles
- Sky: clear
- Temperature: 50°F (10°C), dew point 0°F (-18°C)
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crew | 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.
About this page
Everything above comes from the NTSB's public accident database: the narrative, probable cause and findings are the NTSB's own words, and the coded tables behind its report (pilot, aircraft, flight, weather, injuries, sequence of events) are written out in plain English. Pilots' ages, home towns and medical details are left out on purpose. The documents and photographs are the NTSB's docket, the folder of records gathered during the investigation, shown as the NTSB released them (the NTSB redacts some personal details first) and listed under the NTSB's own titles. This site's own text never names pilots, passengers or anyone else involved. A preliminary report describes what is known soon after the event and can change; the final report, with the probable cause, usually follows one to two years later and this page is refreshed when it does. Case number FTW97LA011.