20000805020559I

Incident · Substantial damage

FAA incident report · Balwks FIREFLY 7-15 · Delmar, MD · August 5, 2000

Date: August 5, 2000 · 08:53 local
Place: Delmar, MD
Phase of flight: Other Ground Ops
Operating rules: General operating rules (Part 91)
Damage: Substantial damage
Aircraft: N25837
Reported as: Balwks FIREFLY715
People aboard: 3
Fatal injuries: 0
Pilot’s flight hours: 1,880 total130 in this make and model18 in the last 90 days

N25837Registration cancelled Jun 5, 2003 · Balloon Works FIREFLY 7-15S/N F7-849 Airframe modelBalloon Works FIREFLY 7-15 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.

(-23)Pilot landed in a large open, grass covered field. The wind was approximately ten knots. The pilot executed a high-wind landing procedure. The balloon touched down just prior to (north of) an unimproved, private lane which ran east of and perpendicular to U.S. Route 13. The lane was about at the mid-point of the field. Just south of the lane were green-colored electrical lines going to an abandoned house east of the touch down area. North of the poles supporting the electical lines were trees which blocked the view of the pole from the perspective of a pilot landing from the north. After the pilot landed, the pilot pulled the vent line to deflate the balloon and the passengers exited the basket. While the balloon envelope was being deflated, the top of the balloon envelope came down across the lane and made contact with the electrical wires. The pilot saw smoke and moved away from the balloon and basket. The balloon envelope ignited and burned.

As the FAA filed it

(-23)PILOT LANDED IN A LARGE OPEN, GRASS COVERED FIELD. THE WIND WAS APPROXIMATELY TEN KNOTS. THE PILOT EXECUTED A HIGH-WIND LANDING PROCEDURE. THE BALLOON TOUCHED DOWN JUST PRIOR TO (NORTH OF) AN UNIMPROVED, PRIVATE LANE WHICH RAN EAST OF AND PERPENDICULAR TO U.S. ROUTE 13. THE LANE WAS ABOUT AT THE MID-POINT OF THE FIELD. JUST SOUTH OF THE LANE WERE GREEN-COLORED ELECTRICAL LINES GOING TO AN ABANDONED HOUSE EAST OF THE TOUCH DOWN AREA. NORTH OF THE POLES SUPPORTING THE ELECTICAL LINES WERE TREES WHICH BLOCKED THE VIEW OF THE POLE FROM THE PERSPECTIVE OF A PILOT LANDING FROM THE NORTH. AFTER THE PILOT LANDED, THE PILOT PULLED THE VENT LINE TO DEFLATE THE BALLOON AND THE PASSENGERS EXITED THE BASKET. WHILE THE BALLOON ENVELOPE WAS BEING DEFLATED, THE TOP OF THE BALLOON ENVELOPE CAME DOWN ACROSS THE LANE AND MADE CONTACT WITH THE ELECTRICAL WIRES. THE PILOT SAW SMOKE AND MOVED AWAY FROM THE BALLOON AND BASKET. THE BALLOON ENVELOPE IGNITED AND BURNED.