NTSB CAROL · Event
Event MKC73DCA09
Aircraft involved
Historical record (pre-1982)
NTSB recorded this accident in the pre-1982 coded-field schema — structured fields rather than free-text narrative. Decoded codes use established NTSB single-letter taxonomies; cause factors remain verbatim pending the Form 6120.4 codebook lookup.
Aircraft
BELL 47G-5 · N7042J
Damage
Destroyed
Craft type
Balloon
Classification
Accident
Light condition
Dawn
Weather
VMC
Phase of flight
D1
Operator type
H
Airport
SPIRIT ST.LOUIS
Kind of flying
DL
Weather at impact
Sky
SCATTERED-ABOVE 1000 FEET
Wind
030° / 5 kt
Temp
24° F
Aircraft history
Serial number
000000025018
Total time
3,821 hrs
Pilot
Certificate
Flight instructor (CFI)
Total hours
1,401
Age
29
Probable cause (from PRE1982.MDB)
FT SANK IN MO RVR,WAS NOT RCVRD.
Investigator remarks
ALT TOO LOW TO REACH SHORE WHEN PWR WAS LOST. AC
Cause factors
- 74/C/KA C POWERPLANT POWERPLANT FAILURE FOR UNDETERMINED REASONS Cause
- 64/C/27 C PILOT IN COMMAND IMPROPER IN-FLIGHT DECISIONS OR PLANNING Cause
- 88/C/14 C MISCELLANEOUS ACTS,CONDITIONS UNWARRANTED LOW FLYING Cause
- 82/L/G L WEATHER CONDITIONS CONDUCIVE TO CARB./INDUCTION SYSTEM ICING
- 88/K/88 K MISCELLANEOUS ACTS,CONDITIONS AIRCRAFT CAME TO REST IN WATER Joint factor
Decoded against the NTSB Form 6120.4 cause-factor codebook (ct_Pre1982 table). Each row shows the raw triplet, modifier (Cause / Factor / etc.), category, and specific code.
Source: NTSB pre-1982 historical archive. Docket
3 3858.
Source file
NTSB_1972_3_3858.txt.
Modern CAROL record on
data.ntsb.gov ↗.
Beyond the agency record
Search this event elsewhere.
Pre-filled searches into the sources where news + community discussion of aviation events lives. External sources are reported, not agency. Treat them as signal that something happened, not as fact about what happened.
Entity-clustered aviation events in the press — last 24 hr + 30-day archive.
Official agency record + docket.
Investigative docket: factual reports, photos, transcripts.
Long-running aviation incident database (Flight Safety Foundation).
Community NTSB synthesis blog — often has photos and witness reports.
Gold-standard aviation incident blog.
Aviation industry news search.
GA pilot forum — informed but rumor-prone.
GA pilot subreddit search.
Tail-number page — flight history (free tier limited).
AOPA Air Safety Institute search.
Mainstream press coverage. Recent events only.
Privacy-preserving news search.
External links open in a new tab. We don't ingest their content; we deep-link search queries.