# Accident 19960814022609A: Camron CIGPAK80, Columbia, MO, August 14, 1996

- Type: FAA accident report (Accident/Incident Data System), as reported
- Date: August 14, 1996, 07:25 local time
- Place: Columbia, MO
- Damage: Substantial damage
- Phase of flight: Descent
- Operating rules: General operating rules (Part 91)
- Location: 38.9502° N, 92.3192° W: From the FAA, an estimate near the named town, within about 3 miles
- Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=38.9502&lon=-92.3192&mi=10
- Aircraft: N4535W, a cancelled registration (https://openairdocs.org/deregistered/N4535W-2000-02-01) (OpenAirDocs)
- Registry model: Cameron Balloons US CIGPACK-80 (registry code 1880289, https://openairdocs.org/model/cameron-balloons-us-cigpack-80) (OpenAirDocs)
- Reported make and model: CAMRON CIGPAK80
- Fatal injuries: 0
- Pilot flight hours: 720 total, 85 in this make and model, 30 in the last 90 days
- NTSB investigation: [NTSB CHI96LA294](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/CHI96LA294) (OpenAirDocs)
- FAA source: FAA Aviation Safety Information Portal (https://asip.faa.gov/)
- Page: https://openairdocs.org/incident/19960814022609A

## Narrative

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

HOT AIR BALLOON IN RACE, STRUCK A POWERLINE, CAUGHT FIRE AND CRASHED IN A FIELD. (.4)THE BASKET ON A BALLOON WAS DESTROYED BY FIRE WHEN IT CONTACTED POWER LINES DURING LANDING. THE POLES AND WIRES WERE REPORTED AS DIFFICULT TO SEE DUE TO TREES AND VEGETATION. TWO WITNESSES REPORTED THAT THE PILOT WAS TALKING WITH GROUND CREW PERSONNEL, AND WAS FACING OPPOSITE OF THE DIRECTION THAT THE BALLOON WAS TRAVELING, JUST PRIOR TO THE ACCIDENT. THE ELECTRIC COMPANY HAD GIVEN OUT MAPS TO THE PILOTS, SHOWING THE LOCATIONS OF THE POWER LINES IN THE AREA.

## 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 CHI96LA294](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/CHI96LA294), Aug 14, 1996: Cameron CIGPACK-80 (N4535W), Columbia, MO, substantial damage. Probable cause: failure of the pilot to see-and-avoid transmission (power) lines during the landing. Factors relating to the accident were: vegetation and trees, which obscured the pilot's view of the power lines.

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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