# Incident 20090707012139I: Lindst 120A, Louisville, KY, July 7, 2009

- Type: FAA incident report (Accident/Incident Data System), as reported
- Date: July 7, 2009, 20:17 local time
- Place: Louisville, KY
- Damage: No damage
- Phase of flight: Approach
- 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: N719JR, registered now (https://openairdocs.org/aircraft/N719JR) (OpenAirDocs)
- Registry model: Arbc Inc DBA Lindstrand 120A (registry code 5190008, https://openairdocs.org/model/arbc-inc-dba-lindstrand-120a) (OpenAirDocs)
- Registry engine: NONE (registry code 00000, https://openairdocs.org/engine/none) (OpenAirDocs)
- Reported make and model: LINDST 120A
- People aboard: 6
- Fatal injuries: 0
- Other injuries: 0
- Pilot flight hours: 1,500 total, 70 in this make and model, 12 in the last 90 days
- FAA source: FAA Aviation Safety Information Portal (https://asip.faa.gov/)
- Page: https://openairdocs.org/incident/20090707012139I

## Narrative

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

(-23)  AIRMAN WAS CONDUCTING COMMERCIAL SIGHT-SEEING OPERATIONS IN A HOT-AIR BALLOON.  AFTER PASSING OVER CROSS-COUNTRY POWERLINES, PILOT INITIATED APPROACH TO LAND IN A LARGE OPEN FIELD.  AT ABOUT 30 FEET ABOVE THE GROUND, PILOT NOTED ANOTHER POWER LINE TRAVERSING HIS FLIGHT PATH.  DETECTION WAS DELAYED BECAUSE THE POLES WERE OBSCURED IN TREES ON EITHER SIDE OF THE OPEN FIELD, ABOUT 1/4 MILE APART., AND WERE NOT READILY APPARENT TO THE PILOT OR PASSENGERS.  PILOT OPEN BLAST VALVE TO ADD HEAT TO THE ENVELOPE TO CLIMB ABOVE THE POWER LINE, BUT THERE WAS NOT ENOUGH TIME TO PREVENT COLLISION.  UPRIGHT CORNER POLE OF BASKET STRUCK UPPER (GROUND) WIRE, BREAKING THE WIRE.  THE BALLOON THEN CLIMBED ABOVE THE REMAINING WIRES AND DID NOT CONTACT THEM.  GROUND WIRE FELL ONTO THE HOT WIRES BELOW, CAUSING A SHORT CIRCUIT WITH SPARKS AND A BRIEF FIRE.  THE PILOT FLEW TO THE NEXT OPEN FIELD ( ABOUT 1/2 MILE) AND MADE A NORMAL LANDING AND RECOVERY.  THERE WAS NO INJURY TO PERSONS, NO DAMAGE TO THE AIRCRAFT, NO DAMAGE TO PROPERTY OTHER THAN THE POWER LINES.  THE POWER LINES WERE SERVICE LINES TO AN ABANDONED HOUSE.  THE POWER COMPANY DECIDED NOT TO REPLACE THE DAMAGED LINES.

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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