Thunder And Colt COLT 240A accident near Phoenix, Arizona, September 27, 1996
On September 27, 1996 at about 3:07 pm local time, a Thunder And Colt COLT 240A (balloon), registered N434TC, suffered minor damage in an accident near Phoenix, Arizona (Phoenix--Deer Valley Muni airport). It was a flight of an unrecorded kind under general aviation rules (Part 91). 2 people were seriously injured and 12 people had minor injuries. The weather was visual conditions (good weather).
The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
The pilot's impairment of judgment and performance due to drugs which led to his misjudgment of his descent rate during landing. Contributing factors were: his failure to activate the deflation device (rip line) and turn off the pilot lights, improper use of burner controls, poor judgment, and the relative high wind condition.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- September 27, 1996 · about 3:07 pm local time
- Place
- Phoenix, Arizona · Phoenix--Deer Valley Muni · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- 2 people were seriously injured and 12 people had minor injuries.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Thunder And Colt COLT 240A
- Registration
- N434TC · registry record · serial 2258USA
- 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 pilot received a contract from a resort hotel to provide 13 fare-paying passengers with a balloon ride. Hotel management did not perform a background competency check prior to utilizing the pilot's services. The pilot selected the departure site and did not launch pibals to determine the speed and direction of the winds aloft. The flight commenced from a location about 6 nm north-northeast of the FAA controlled Deer Valley Airport, and the airport's wind was from the northeast. After takeoff, the balloon drifted into the airport's Class D airspace and traffic pattern. The pilot had no communication with the control tower. As the balloon drifted through the airspace, the pilot commenced descending at a high rate and impacted hard in an open field about 1 mile west of the airport. The balloon bounced several times and the pilot failed to turn off the pilot lights or rip open the envelope's deflation panel. The 8-knot surface wind blew the balloon into a cement block wall resulting in the pilot's ejection from the basket. With increased buoyancy, the balloon became airborne. None of the passengers were pilots, and the envelope's skirt ignited when they attempted to control the burners. The balloon impacted the ground two more times, and during each impact groups of passengers exited the basket. The balloon eventually drifted over power lines, an interstate highway, past a gasoline service station, and through the final approach course to active runway 07 until finally coming to rest about 2 miles southwest of the airport. Evidence of cocaine was found in the pilot's blood and its metabolite was found in his urine. The pilot had a previous accident, incident, and FAA enforcement history. As with his previous accident, the pilot failed to submit the required accident report.
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: 3,200 hours in all; 130 in this make and model
- Medical certificate: None
- Seat: unk
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 179 hours
- Last inspection: annual inspection, January 8, 1996
- Maximum gross weight: 4,277 lb
- Seats: 0
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: (type not recorded); 0 hours total
- Fire on the ground
The flight
- Departed from: NONE AZ at 1:30 pm
- Destination: NONE
- Flight plan: none
- Runway 7L, 4,500 ft by 75 ft
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: from 020° at 8 knots
- Visibility: 40 statute miles
- Sky: scat at 20,000 ft
- Temperature: 73°F (23°C), dew point 0°F (-18°C)
- Altimeter: 29.00 inHg
- Observation at 2:45 pm from DVT, 2 miles away
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crew | 1 | |||
| Passengers | 1 | 12 |
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.