19980418012789I

Incident · Minor damage

FAA incident report · Thundr AX890 · Suffolk, VA · April 18, 1998

Date: April 18, 1998 · 18:15 local
Place: Suffolk, VA
Phase of flight: Level Off Touchdown
Operating rules: General operating rules (Part 91)
Damage: Minor damage
Aircraft: N124TC
Reported as: Thundr AX890
People aboard: 1
Fatal injuries: 0

N124TCRegistration cancelled Dec 31, 2018 · Thunder & Colt Airborne Amer AX8-90 S 2S/N 1870USA · Built 1991 Airframe modelThunder & Colt Airborne Amer AX8-90 S 2 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: upon trying to land the balloon in a step down type landing, the wind was irregular, the pilot made a decision to drop rather than burn to go up. The pilot stated that there may have been wind shear. The balloon basket landed with the pilot attempting to deflate the balloon. It went into the power line causing the line to break, burning six panels in the lower part of the balloon. No other damage with no one injured.

As the FAA filed it

NARRATIVE: UPON TRYING TO LAND THE BALLOON IN A STEP DOWN TYPE LANDING, THE WIND WAS IRREGULAR, THE PILOT MADE A DECISION TO DROP RATHER THAN BURN TO GO UP. THE PILOT STATED THAT THERE MAY HAVE BEEN WIND SHEAR. THE BALLOON BASKET LANDED WITH THE PILOT ATTEMPTING TO DEFLATE THE BALLOON. IT WENT INTO THE POWER LINE CAUSING THE LINE TO BREAK, BURNING SIX PANELS IN THE LOWER PART OF THE BALLOON. NO OTHER DAMAGE WITH NO ONE INJURED.