# Incident 19960622025429I: Balwks FIREFLY9, Millersburg, MO, June 22, 1996

- Type: FAA incident report (Accident/Incident Data System), as reported
- Date: June 22, 1996, 07:00 local time
- Place: Millersburg, MO
- Damage: Minor damage
- Phase of flight: Fcd/Prec Ldg From Cruise
- Operating rules: General operating rules (Part 91)
- Location: 38.8987° N, 92.1235° W: Placed by OpenAirDocs: center of Millersburg, MO, within about 6 miles (OpenAirDocs)
- Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=38.8987&lon=-92.1235&mi=10
- Aircraft: N9088W, a cancelled registration (https://openairdocs.org/deregistered/N9088W-2018-01-10) (OpenAirDocs)
- Registry model: Balloon Works FIREFLY 9 (registry code 1050120, https://openairdocs.org/model/balloon-works-firefly-9) (OpenAirDocs)
- Registry engine: NONE (registry code 00000, https://openairdocs.org/engine/none) (OpenAirDocs)
- Reported make and model: BALWKS FIREFLY9
- People aboard: 5
- Fatal injuries: 0
- Pilot flight hours: 250 total, 30 in the last 90 days
- FAA source: FAA Aviation Safety Information Portal (https://asip.faa.gov/)
- Page: https://openairdocs.org/incident/19960622025429I

## Narrative

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

NARRATIVE: ON JUNE 22, 1996, MR. JASON EUGENE JONES OPERATED BALLOON WORKS, FIREFLY 9, N9088W, AS PILOT IN COMMAND NEAR MILLERSBURG, MISSOURI. N9088W IS OWNED AND OPERATED BY BALLOON STORMERS, INC., OF COLUMBIA, MISSOURI AND IS USED PRIMARILY FOR COMMERCIAL AIR RIDES. MR. JONES DEPARTED THE BALLOON LAUNCH SITE IN N9088W AT 0630 CDT AND ASCENDED TO AN ALTITUDE OF 800 TO 1,000 FEET ABOVE GROUND LEVEL. AFTER 25 MINUTES OF FLIGHT, MR. JONES SAID THAT THE FUEL TANK TO ONE OF THE TWO BURNERS SHOWED 10% PRESSURE. WHEN HE CHANGED TANKS, THAT BURNER DID NOT RESPOND WHEN THE BLAST VALVE WAS ACTIVATED. N9088W BEGAN TO DESCEND WHILE MR. JONES CONTINUED TO TROUBLESHOOT THE PROBLEM. ALTHOUGH THE OTHER BURNER WAS OPERATING NORMALLY, MR. JONES COULD NOT ARREST THE SINK RATE AND WAS FORCED TO LAND NEAR POWERLINES. AT APPROXIMATELY 0720 CDT, MR. JONES EXPERIENCED A HARD LANDING IN BALLOON WORKS, FIREFLY 9, N9088W, CAUSING MINOR INJURIES TO TWO PASSENGERS AND MINOR DAMAGE TO THE ENVELOPE FABRIC FROM ARCING WHEN THE ENVELOPE FOLDED OVER THE POWERLINES. ^PRIVACY DATA OMITTED^ 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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