20000206003329I

Incident · Minor damage

FAA incident report · Thundr AX7-77 · Simpsonville, SC · February 6, 2000

Date: February 6, 2000 · 17:00 local
Place: Simpsonville, SC
Phase of flight: Final Approach
Operating rules: General operating rules (Part 91)
Damage: Minor damage
Aircraft: N8305X
Reported as: Thundr AX777
People aboard: 2
Fatal injuries: 0
Pilot’s flight hours: 180 total180 in this make and model7 in the last 90 days

N8305XRegistered now · Head Balloons AX7-77S/N 238 Airframe modelHead Balloons AX7-77

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.

Pilot in command was making a normal approach for landing when the wind shifted and blew the sircraft into an antenna tower. The PIC attempted to use the aircraft burners to free the aircraft from the tower but was unable due to the restrictions of the guy wires of the tower. The passenger and the PIC were rescued fron the gondola of the balloon by the fire extension ladder.

As the FAA filed it

PILOT IN COMMAND WAS MAKING A NORMAL APPROACH FOR LANDING WHEN THE WIND SHIFTED AND BLEW THE SIRCRAFT INTO AN ANTENNA TOWER. THE PIC ATTEMPTED TO USE THE AIRCRAFT BURNERS TO FREE THE AIRCRAFT FROM THE TOWER BUT WAS UNABLE DUE TO THE RESTRICTIONS OF THE GUY WIRES OF THE TOWER. THE PASSENGER AND THE PIC WERE RESCUED FRON THE GONDOLA OF THE BALLOON BY THE FIRE EXTENSION LADDER.