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Incident · Minor damage

FAA incident report · Balwks FIREFLY8 · Charles City, IA · July 20, 1997

Date: July 20, 1997 · 20:30 local
Place: Charles City, IA
Phase of flight: Other Ground Ops
Operating rules: General operating rules (Part 91)
Damage: Minor damage
Aircraft: N3209M
Reported as: Balwks FIREFLY8
People aboard: 1
Fatal injuries: 0
Pilot’s flight hours: 25 total7 in this make and model25 in the last 90 days

N3209MRegistered now · Balloon Works FIREFLY 8B-15S/N F8B-529 · Built 1997 Airframe modelBalloon Works FIREFLY 8B-15 Engine 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: departed from a farm field on a supervised solo flight. The student pilot flew approximately ten minutes and landed. The balloon envelope had deflated and was on the ground. While the student pilot was in the basket securing the burner, the wind increased lifting the balloon off the ground and into nearby trees. The student evacuated the basket with the "drop line". This incident is closed with this report. Incident #ICE01970031

As the FAA filed it

NARRATIVE: DEPARTED FROM A FARM FIELD ON A SUPERVISED SOLO FLIGHT. THE STUDENT PILOT FLEW APPROXIMATELY TEN MINUTES AND LANDED. THE BALLOON ENVELOPE HAD DEFLATED AND WAS ON THE GROUND. WHILE THE STUDENT PILOT WAS IN THE BASKET SECURING THE BURNER, THE WIND INCREASED LIFTING THE BALLOON OFF THE GROUND AND INTO NEARBY TREES. THE STUDENT EVACUATED THE BASKET WITH THE "DROP LINE". THIS INCIDENT IS CLOSED WITH THIS REPORT. INCIDENT #ICE01970031