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19950304011219I

Incident · Minor damage
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FAA incident report · Balwks FIREFLY* · Thermal, CA · March 4, 1995

FAA Aviation Safety Information Portal

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Date
March 4, 1995 · 05:45 local
Place
Thermal, CA
Phase of flight
To Init Climb(1st Pwr Reduct)
Operating rules
General operating rules (Part 91)
Damage
Minor damage
Aircraft
N2556W
Reported as
Balwks FIREFLY*
People aboard
11
Fatal injuries
0
Pilot’s flight hours
2,000 total200 in this make and model60 in the last 90 days
N2556WRegistration cancelled Aug 28, 2013 · Balloon Works FIRE FLY 10S/N F10-003Airframe modelBalloon Works FIRE FLY 10Engine modelNONENone

From the FAA’s Accident/Incident Data System (AIDS), through its Aviation Safety Information Portal, as reported. The NTSB investigates accidents separately, and its record of an accident is the fuller one. The aircraft is matched to the registry 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.

What happened

The FAA’s narrative, in sentence case. The FAA writes it in capitals and removes private details.

Narrative: shortly after launch, N2556W drifted over and collided with another balloon (N4199K) that was in the process of hot inflation. According to the pilot of N2556W, this driftover was caused by an unanticipated wind shift after launch. The pilot of N4199K reported the winds at the launch site to be light and variable. Collision occurred while N2556W was approximately 50' AGL. N4199K was not yet ready for flight. Only the top half of N4199K'S envelope was erect and no one had yet boarded the gondola. This incident is closed.

As the FAA filed it

NARRATIVE: SHORTLY AFTER LAUNCH, N2556W DRIFTED OVER AND COLLIDED WITH ANOTHER BALLOON (N4199K) THAT WAS IN THE PROCESS OF HOT INFLATION. ACCORDING TO THE PILOT OF N2556W, THIS DRIFTOVER WAS CAUSED BY AN UNANTICIPATED WIND SHIFT AFTER LAUNCH. THE PILOT OF N4199K REPORTED THE WINDS AT THE LAUNCH SITE TO BE LIGHT AND VARIABLE. COLLISION OCCURRED WHILE N2556W WAS APPROXIMATELY 50' AGL. N4199K WAS NOT YET READY FOR FLIGHT. ONLY THE TOP HALF OF N4199K'S ENVELOPE WAS ERECT AND NO ONE HAD YET BOARDED THE GONDOLA. THIS INCIDENT IS CLOSED.