Booking a NM Hot Air Balloon Flight: Reduce Your Risk of a Balloon Crash

http://danelawfirm.com/reducing-risk-of-hot-air-balloon-crashes/
Booking a NM Hot Air Balloon Flight: Reduce Your Risk of a Balloon Crash
Like all aviation accidents in Albuquerque, New Mexico, and around the world, hot air balloon crashes occur for a variety of reasons. Like other aircraft crashes, human factors like pilot error are frequently cited as a primary causal factor. In the hot air balloon flight environment, it can be difficult to distinguish between human and weather-related factors. This article analyzes data consisting of all hot air balloon crashes and accidents in the United States, United Kingdom, and Australia in the year 2009. Interestingly, for the year of 2009, no hot air balloon crash was attributed to defective or failed hardware.

In a hot air ballooning capitol such as Albuquerque, NM, people considering a ride in a hot air balloon ride should carefully question the pilot they intend to hire about: 1) their number of hours as pilot-in-command, 2) their total number of hot air balloon flight hours, and 3) their accident history before booking a flight with them. If you are concerned about the weather, then your pilot should be concerned as well. Ask questions about the wind and expected weather forecast and make sure you are comfortable with the conditions and your pilot's grasp of the forecast. Do not allow your pilot to take off from an area that has a high number of above-ground power or telephone wires. Finally, in order to most minimize the risk associated with hot air balloon flight, you should avoid large balloons and instead book a flight on a balloon capable of carrying less than 16 passengers.