Balloon Works FIREFLY 8-24 accident near Albuquerque, New Mexico, October 6, 1997
On October 6, 1997 at about 2:00 pm local time, a Balloon Works FIREFLY 8-24, registered N74056, was involved in an accident near Albuquerque, New Mexico. It was a personal flight under general aviation rules (Part 91). 1 person was seriously injured; 2 others were unhurt. The weather was visual conditions (good weather).
The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
the passenger's failure to follow procedures/directives for the landing.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- October 6, 1997 · about 2:00 pm local time
- Place
- Albuquerque, New Mexico
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- 1 person was seriously injured; 2 others were unhurt.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Balloon Works FIREFLY 8-24 FIREFLY 8- · all FIREFLY 8-24s on the register
- Registration
- N74056 · no longer on the register · serial F8-078
- 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 'approach to landing was normal.' He stated that the balloon 'touched down, bounced once, and came to a normal upright stop.' The injured passenger (the pilot's wife) reported to the Investigator-In-Charge (IIC) that 'she had her arm around an upright and was holding on very hard.' She stated to the IIC that she believed that the 'landing was not a difficult landing,' but she was having 'some difficulty with my [her] knees' and did not have them bent as the pilot had instructed. Subsequently, during the landing sequence, she fractured her arm.
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: 1,657 hours in all; 1,500 in this make and model; 27 in the last 90 days; 4 in the last 30 days; 1,522 as pilot in command; 329 on instruments
- Medical certificate: Unknown
- Seat: unk
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 1,048 hours
- Last inspection: annual inspection, June 30, 1997; 21 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 2,300 lb
- Seats: 0
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: (type not recorded); 0 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: ABQ at 2:00 pm
- Flight plan: none
- Runway 0
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Visibility: 20 statute miles
- Sky: clear
- Temperature: 61°F (16°C), dew point 0°F (-18°C)
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crew | 1 | |||
| Passengers | 1 | 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.