# Accident 20080731843239A: Head AX9118, Cook, MN, July 31, 2008

- Type: FAA accident report (Accident/Incident Data System), as reported
- Date: July 31, 2008, 08:20 local time
- Place: Cook, MN
- Damage: Substantial damage
- Phase of flight: Level Off Touchdown
- Operating rules: General operating rules (Part 91)
- Location: 47.9456° N, 92.6244° W: From the FAA
- Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=47.9456&lon=-92.6244&mi=10
- Aircraft: N3106K, a cancelled registration (https://openairdocs.org/deregistered/N3106K-2012-09-10) (OpenAirDocs)
- Registry model: Head Balloons AX9 118 (registry code 05637CC, https://openairdocs.org/model/head-balloons-ax9-118) (OpenAirDocs)
- Reported make and model: HEAD AX9118
- People aboard: 3
- Fatal injuries: 0
- Pilot flight hours: 13,000 total, 800 in this make and model, 6 in the last 90 days
- NTSB investigation: [NTSB CHI08CA227](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/CHI08CA227) (OpenAirDocs)
- FAA source: FAA Aviation Safety Information Portal (https://asip.faa.gov/)
- Page: https://openairdocs.org/incident/20080731843239A

## Narrative

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

(-23) ON JULY 31, 2008 AT APPROXIMATELY 07:30 A.M., ^PRIVACY DATA OMITTED^ (PILOT) DEPARTED HIS HOME IN A HOT AIR BALLOON WITH HIMSELF AND 2 PASSENGERS. HIS HOME IS ON CENTER ISLAND ON LAKE VERMILION IN NORTHERN MINNESOTA. THE FLIGHT WAS OVER WATER IN A NNE DIRECTION. AT ABOUT 08:15 HE LANDED ON A PENINSULA MOSTLY COVERED WITH TREES, AS ARE MOST THE SURROUNDING AREAS. THE LANDING WAS IN A VERY SMALL ROAD CLEARING, APPROXIMATELY 65 FEET WIDE. THE PILOT WAS COMMITTED TO THE LANDING WHEN POWER LINES WERE NOTED IN THE MIDDLE OF THE CLEARING, LANDING WAS COMPLETED. WHILE LANDING, THE BALLOON SETTLED ONTO THE TWO POWER LINES CAUSING THEM TO TOUCH AND SPARK, STARTING THE BALLOON ON FIRE. THE PILOT AND PASSENGERS GOT CLEAR AND NO ONE WAS INJURED. THE CHASE CREW SHOWED UP AND WITH THE HELP OF LOCAL RESIDENCES EVERYTHING WAS LOADED INTO A TRUCK EXCEPT FOR THE UNBURNED PORTION OF THE BALLOON HANGING ON THE WIRES, THE SHERIFF AND TWO DEPUTY'S ARRIVED AS THE CREW WAS LEAVING. THE DEPUTY'S HAD HASKED TO SEE THE PILOT'S LICENSE, ^PRIVACY DATA OMITTED^ STATED HE DID NOT HAVE IT ON HIM.

## The NTSB's investigation of this event (1)

From the NTSB's public API. Aircraft are matched to registry aircraft by N-number and event date, checked against the reported serial number, make and model; the registry's history has gaps, so older matches can be wrong. Compare the reported make and model.

- [NTSB CHI08CA227](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/CHI08CA227), Jul 31, 2008: Head Balloons AX9-118 (N3106K), Cook, MN, destroyed. Probable cause: The pilot's decision to land in a confined area. Contributing to the accident were the hidden power transmission lines and the confined landing site.

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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