# Incident 19960320010569I: Balwks FIREFLY9, Palm Desert, CA, March 20, 1996

- Type: FAA incident report (Accident/Incident Data System), as reported
- Date: March 20, 1996, 07:31 local time
- Place: Palm Desert, CA
- Phase of flight: Final Approach
- Operating rules: General operating rules (Part 91)
- Location: 33.7376° N, 116.3641° W: Placed by OpenAirDocs: center of Palm Desert, CA, within about 6 miles (OpenAirDocs)
- Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=33.7376&lon=-116.3641&mi=10
- Aircraft: N90738, a cancelled registration (https://openairdocs.org/deregistered/N90738-2001-02-23) (OpenAirDocs)
- Registry model: Balloon Works FIREFLY 9 (registry code 1050120, https://openairdocs.org/model/balloon-works-firefly-9) (OpenAirDocs)
- Reported make and model: BALWKS FIREFLY9
- People aboard: 6
- Fatal injuries: 0
- Pilot flight hours: 1,870 total, 350 in this make and model, 60 in the last 90 days
- FAA source: FAA Aviation Safety Information Portal (https://asip.faa.gov/)
- Page: https://openairdocs.org/incident/19960320010569I

## Narrative

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

NARRATIVE: COMMERCIAL SIGHT SEEING FLIGHT. PILOT WAS ATTEMPTING TO LAND IN A LARGE FIELD. POWER POLES WERE OBSCURED BY TREES. DIDN'T SEE POWER LINES UNTIL LAST MINUTE. PILOT APPLIED HEAT BUT CONTACT WITH POWER LINES WAS MADE. THIS INCIDENT IS CLOSED.

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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