Kubicek BB100 accident near St. Helena, California, April 14, 2019
On April 14, 2019 at about 6:23 pm local time, a 2016 Kubicek BB100 (balloon), registered N355WC, suffered minor damage in an accident during landing near St. Helena, California. It was an aerial observation flight under general aviation rules (Part 91). 1 person was seriously injured and 2 people had minor injuries; 13 others were unhurt. The weather was visual conditions (good weather).
The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
The balloon pilot's encounter with unforecasted wind, which resulted in his decision to land in unsuitable terrain and a subsequent hard landing. Contributing to the severity of passenger injury was the pilot’s failure to provide a proper safety briefing.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- April 14, 2019 · about 6:23 pm local time
- Place
- St. Helena, California · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- 1 person was seriously injured and 2 people had minor injuries; 13 others were unhurt.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Kubicek BB100 Z, built 2016
- Registration
- N355WC · registry record · serial 1293
- Damage
- Minor damage
- Flight
- Aerial observation flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
The pilot departed on a routine flight, after reviewing the weather forecast, including wind and temperatures aloft. Additionally, he received weather information from his boss, who used pilot balloons to find prevailing winds, that the winds were favorable to their southern direction of flight. After an uneventful departure, the balloon started to drift northwest, but the accident pilot rapidly climbed to 3,000 ft at which point the balloon was diverted by winds from the northwest. According to passengers, the balloon pilot did not provide any safety instructions or emergency procedures prior to departure, nor did he during the accident flight until his first landing attempt. After about 1 hour and 45 minutes of flight the pilot decided to land on a small plot of terrain as he was unfamiliar with the terrain east of their position. The pilot did not recite any safety instructions prior to the balloon's impact with the ground, but instead he informed the passengers to brace for impact. The balloon impacted a blackberry bush, which likely absorbed some of the vertical energy. After a brief ascent, the balloon impacted the ground hard a second time and came to rest. One passenger was seriously injured. It is likely that the pilot balloons released by the company owner to find the prevailing winds indicated desirable winds at lower altitudes. As the wind was not forecasted to be in a southeast direction below 3,000 ft. The balloon pilot's encounter with unforecasted wind conditions likely resulted in his decision to land in unsuitable terrain, which resulted in a hard landing and serious injuries. Further, although he did deliver some safety instructions during the flight, several passengers were unclear on the emergency procedure and the pilot did not clarify his instructions when prompted. Thus, the pilot's lack of a thorough and clear safety briefing may have prevented some of the passengers from securing themselves properly for the abnormal 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
- Miscellaneous/other during approach
- Hard landing during landing defining event
The NTSB's findings
- cause Environmental issues › Conditions/weather/phenomena › Wind › Sudden wind shift › Effect on operation
- Personnel issues › Task performance › Use of equip/info › Aircraft control › Pilot
- Aircraft › Aircraft oper/perf/capability › Performance/control parameters › Descent rate › Not attained/maintained
- Personnel issues › Task performance › Communication (personnel) › (general) › Pilot
Pilot
- Certificate: flight instructor, commercial pilot
- Ratings: single-engine land; instrument: airplane; rotorcraft: balloon
- Flight time: 1,463 hours in all; 90.3 in this make and model; 7 in the last 90 days; 5.8 in the last 30 days; 1,440 as pilot in command; 3 on instruments
- Last flight review: November 4, 2018
- Medical certificate: Class 2 (without waivers/limitations)
- Seat: ctr
- Injury: no injuries
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 94.5 hours
- Last inspection: annual inspection, August 1, 2018
- Maximum gross weight: 7,055 lb
- Seats: 21
- Landing gear: fixed
The flight
- Departed from: Windsor CA at 4:38 pm
- Destination: STS Santa Rosa CA
- Flight plan: none
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: from 160° at 6 knots
- Visibility: 10 statute miles
- Sky: a few clouds at 25,000 ft
- Temperature: 63°F (17°C), dew point 48°F (9°C)
- Altimeter: 29.94 inHg
- Observation at 6:53 pm, 15 miles away
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Flight crew | 1 | |||
| Passengers | 1 | 2 | 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.
Other NTSB records under N355WC the same tail number, which may have belonged to a different aircraft at the time
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 WPR19TA110.