# Incident 20000805020559I: Balwks FIREFLY715, Delmar, MD, August 5, 2000

- Type: FAA incident report (Accident/Incident Data System), as reported
- Date: August 5, 2000, 08:53 local time
- Place: Delmar, MD
- Damage: Substantial damage
- Phase of flight: Other Ground Ops
- Operating rules: General operating rules (Part 91)
- Location: 38.4415° N, 75.5597° W: Placed by OpenAirDocs: center of Delmar, MD, within about 6 miles (OpenAirDocs)
- Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=38.4415&lon=-75.5597&mi=10
- Aircraft: N25837, a cancelled registration (https://openairdocs.org/deregistered/N25837-2003-06-05) (OpenAirDocs)
- Registry model: Balloon Works FIREFLY 7-15 (registry code 1050118, https://openairdocs.org/model/balloon-works-firefly-7-15) (OpenAirDocs)
- Registry engine: NONE (registry code 00000, https://openairdocs.org/engine/none) (OpenAirDocs)
- Reported make and model: BALWKS FIREFLY715
- People aboard: 3
- Fatal injuries: 0
- Pilot flight hours: 1,880 total, 130 in this make and model, 18 in the last 90 days
- FAA source: FAA Aviation Safety Information Portal (https://asip.faa.gov/)
- Page: https://openairdocs.org/incident/20000805020559I

## Narrative

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

(-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.

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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