# Incident 19960619034079I: Balwks FIREFLY7, Stanley, KS, June 19, 1996

- Type: FAA incident report (Accident/Incident Data System), as reported
- Date: June 19, 1996, 20:30 local time
- Place: Stanley, KS
- Phase of flight: Level Off Touchdown
- Operating rules: General operating rules (Part 91)
- Location: 38.8545° N, 94.6658° W: Placed by OpenAirDocs: center of Stanley, KS, within about 6 miles (OpenAirDocs)
- Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=38.8545&lon=-94.6658&mi=10
- Aircraft: N7109D, a cancelled registration (https://openairdocs.org/deregistered/N7109D-2013-06-14) (OpenAirDocs)
- Registry model: Balloon Works FIREFLY 7 (registry code 1050100, https://openairdocs.org/model/balloon-works-firefly-7) (OpenAirDocs)
- Registry engine: NONE (registry code 00000, https://openairdocs.org/engine/none) (OpenAirDocs)
- Reported make and model: BALWKS FIREFLY7
- People aboard: 3
- Fatal injuries: 0
- Pilot flight hours: 275 total, 250 in this make and model, 6 in the last 90 days
- FAA source: FAA Aviation Safety Information Portal (https://asip.faa.gov/)
- Page: https://openairdocs.org/incident/19960619034079I

## Narrative

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

NARRATIVE: ON JUNE 19, 1996, MR. ANDREW LEWIS SHERMAN OPERATED BALLOON WORKS FIREFLY 7, HOT AIR BALLOON, N7109D, AS PILOT IN COMMAND ON A PASSENGER FLIGHT, NOT FOR COMPENSATION OR HIRE, FROM BELTON, MISSOURI, TO A POINT NEAR STANLEY, KANSAS. AT APPROXIMATELY 2030 CDT, MR. SHERMAN APPROACHED A FIELD FOR A LANDING. HIS GROUND CREW RAN TO THE LANDING AREA TO CATCH THE BASKET AND MANEUVER IT AWAY FROM TREES. ONE MEMBER OF THE GROUND CREW WAS UNABLE TO MOVE OUT OF THE WAY AND WAS STRUCK ON THE ANKLE BY THE BALLOON BASKET RESULTING IN AN INJURY. DURING AN INTERVIEW, THE INJURED GROUND PERSON ADMITTED SHE "GOT IN THE WAY OF THE BASKET" AFTER THE BALLOON HAD HIT THE GROUND ONCE AND BOUNCED. SHE ALSO STATED THAT THE PILOT IN COMMAND HAD GIVEN A PRE-LAUNCH BRIEFING AND HAD ASSIGNED RESPONSIBILITIES TO EACH GROUND CREW MEMBER. THE PILOT IN COMMAND WAS COUNSELED BY THE REPORTING INSPECTOR ON THE IMPORTANCE OF ASSIGNING THE GROUND CREW SPECIFIC RESPONSIBILITIES DURING THE LAUNCH AND THE RECOVERY PHASE OF FLIGHT AS WELL AS THE PILOT'S RESPONSIBILITY FOR SUPERVISING THE GROUND CREW. THIS INCIDENT REPORT 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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