# Accident 19810815049849A: Balwks FIREFLY824, Barrington Hill, IL, August 15, 1981

- Type: FAA accident report (Accident/Incident Data System), as reported
- Date: August 15, 1981, 18:40 local time
- Place: Barrington Hill, IL
- Damage: Destroyed
- Phase of flight: Unauth Low Level Opns
- Operating rules: General operating rules (Part 91)
- Location: 42.1386° N, 88.2030° W: Placed by OpenAirDocs: center of Barrington Hills, IL, within about 6 miles (OpenAirDocs)
- Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=42.1386&lon=-88.2030&mi=10
- Aircraft: N4062Z (not matched to a registry record)
- Reported make and model: BALWKS FIREFLY824
- People aboard: 4
- Fatal injuries: 4
- Pilot flight hours: 774 total, 300 in this make and model, 67 in the last 90 days
- NTSB investigation: [NTSB CHI81FA089](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/CHI81FA089) (OpenAirDocs)
- FAA source: FAA Aviation Safety Information Portal (https://asip.faa.gov/)
- Page: https://openairdocs.org/incident/19810815049849A

## Narrative

As the FAA filed it, in capitals; the FAA replaces private details with ^PRIVACY DATA OMITTED^.

DEPARTED IN THREATENING WEATHER.  FAILED TO CLIMB. WINDSHIFT AND GUST DROVE BALLOON INTO POWERLINE. BURNED IN AIR.

## The NTSB's investigation of this event (1)

From the NTSB's public API. Aircraft are matched to registry aircraft by N-number and event date, checked against the reported serial number, make and model; the registry's history has gaps, so older matches can be wrong. Compare the reported make and model.

- [NTSB CHI81FA089](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/CHI81FA089), Aug 15, 1981: Balloon WKS 8-24 (N4062Z), Barrington, IL, destroyed, 5 fatal

From the FAA Accident/Incident Data System. Reports are matched to registry aircraft by N-number and event date, checked against the reported make and model; the registry's history has gaps, so older matches can be wrong. Compare the reported make and model. For accidents, the NTSB's own investigation is the fuller record.

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