Probable cause
The balloon passenger's failure to maintain her grip during landing, which resulted in a fall and injury to another passenger.
NTSB analysis
At the completion of a balloon flight, the balloon touched down while moving at 4 mph and bounced. An adult passenger did not maintain her grip on the hand-holds and fell into another passenger, breaking that passenger’s wrist. According to the operator, the multi-passenger, partition-basket balloon was used for sightseeing flights. The passengers were given a briefing card and briefed at the operator's facility before being bused to the launch site, where a more detailed briefing was provided by the balloon’s pilot. The items briefed included the location of hand-holds and the proper stance at touchdown.
Text from the NTSB. Open the NTSB docket for ERA12CA328 for the full record.
Event
- Date
- Apr 16, 2012
- Type
- Accident
- Place
- Clermont, Florida
- Highest injury
- Serious
- Serious injuries
- 1
- Weather
- Visual (VMC)
- Light
- Day
Ultramagic N425
- N-number
- N990BR
- Category
- Balloon
- Operating rule
- Part 91 (general aviation)
- Purpose of flight
- Other work use
From the NTSB aviation accident database: N-registered aircraft, events since 2008, data through Oct 28, 2026. The file is published monthly, so the latest weeks are incomplete and recent records can change. The official source is the NTSB aviation investigation search. CheckAero is independent and not affiliated with the NTSB.