# Incident 20090424005609I: Lbl 60XLBL, Louisville, KY, April 24, 2009

- Type: FAA incident report (Accident/Incident Data System), as reported
- Date: April 24, 2009, 21:40 local time
- Place: Louisville, KY
- Damage: No damage
- Phase of flight: Ground/Ramp/Ma
- Operating rules: General operating rules (Part 91)
- Location: 38.2542° N, 85.7594° W: Placed by OpenAirDocs: center of Louisville, KY, within about 6 miles (OpenAirDocs)
- Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=38.2542&lon=-85.7594&mi=10
- Aircraft: N113LB, a cancelled registration (https://openairdocs.org/deregistered/N113LB-2021-10-02) (OpenAirDocs)
- Registry model: Lindstrand Balloons 60X (registry code 5180017, https://openairdocs.org/model/lindstrand-balloons-60x) (OpenAirDocs)
- Registry engine: NONE (registry code 00000, https://openairdocs.org/engine/none) (OpenAirDocs)
- Reported make and model: LBL 60XLBL
- People aboard: 2
- Fatal injuries: 0
- Other injuries: 0
- Pilot flight hours: 340 total, 150 in this make and model, 2 in the last 90 days
- FAA source: FAA Aviation Safety Information Portal (https://asip.faa.gov/)
- Page: https://openairdocs.org/incident/20090424005609I

## Narrative

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

(-23)  SAFETY RESTRAINT STRAP THAT RUNS BETWEEN TWO CARABINERS AT THE BURNER FRAME BROKE DURING NIGHT BALLOON ENVELOPE WAS INFLATED AND HOT.  BALLOON BROKE LOOSE FROM THE TIE DOWN AND LOST CONTROL, STRIKING ONE CREWMEMBER AND A VAN FROM ANOTHER BALLOON TEAM.  NO INJURIES TO BYSTANDERS AND MINOR DAMAGE TO THE VAN.  BALLOON BECAME AIRBORNE.  PILOT REGAINED CONTROL.  PILOT FLEW FOR 2-3 MILES AND LANDED AT THE FIRST AVAIABLE SITE IN THE DARK.  NO DAMAGE TO THE BALLOON.  NO INJURIES.  WINDS AT THE TIME WERE REPORTED 200 AT 11 KNOTS, WITH GUSTS TO 18.  PILOT UTILIZED ONE SAFETY RESTRAINT TO SECURE THE BALLOON DURING THE GLOW.  SAFETY RESTRAINT EQUIPMENT, INCLUDING THE STRAP THAT BROKE, IS NOT PART OF THE AIRCRAFT CERTIFICATION PROCESS, THUS NOT REGULATED BY THE FAA.  THE STRAP THAT BROKE WAS HOMEMADE, DOUBLE LAYERED, AND RATED AT 1200 POUNDS.  THE BALLOON MANUFACTURER MAKES THESE STRAPS, TRIPPLE LAYERED AND RATED AT 5,000 POUNDS.

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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