# Accident 20120316005309A: Firefly Balloons Inc FIREFLY 8, Fitzgerald, GA, March 16, 2012

- Type: FAA accident report (Accident/Incident Data System), as reported
- Date: March 16, 2012, 19:20 local time
- Place: Fitzgerald, GA
- Airport: Fitzgerald Municipal
- Damage: Substantial damage
- Phase of flight: Hover/Holding
- Operating rules: General operating rules (Part 91)
- Location: 31.7189° N, 83.0758° W: From the FAA
- Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=31.7189&lon=-83.0758&mi=10
- Aircraft: N14643, a cancelled registration (https://openairdocs.org/deregistered/N14643-2018-01-02) (OpenAirDocs)
- Registry model: Firefly Balloons FIREFLY 8 (registry code 1050117, https://openairdocs.org/model/firefly-balloons-firefly-8) (OpenAirDocs)
- Registry engine: NONE (registry code 00000, https://openairdocs.org/engine/none) (OpenAirDocs)
- Reported make and model: FIREFLY BALLOONS INC FIREFLY 8
- Reported engine: NONE NONE
- People aboard: 1
- Fatal injuries: 1
- Other injuries: 0
- Pilot certificates: Commercial pilot
- Pilot flight hours: 1,108 total, 115 in this make and model, 9 in the last 90 days
- NTSB investigation: [NTSB ERA12LA231](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/ERA12LA231) (OpenAirDocs)
- FAA source: FAA Aviation Safety Information Portal (https://asip.faa.gov/)
- Page: https://openairdocs.org/incident/20120316005309A

## Narrative

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

WHILE CONDUCTING SKYDIVING OPERATION, PILOT OBSERVED STORM TO THE EAST. ADVISED DIVERS TO BAIL. TRIED TO RIDE OVER THE STORM. STORM PULLED THE BALLOON INTO IT AND AN UPDRAFT CARRIED HIM TO APPROXIMATELY 18,000 FT.  BALLOON ENCOUNTERED SEVERE HAIL AND RAIN,  ENVELOPE TORE APART, COLLAPSED, AND FELL AT A RATE OF 2,000 FT PER MINUTE.  PILOT AND BALLOON WERE FOUND AT 1220 LOCAL TIME ON MONDAY MARCH 19TH.  PILOT PRONOUNCED DEAD AT 1310.

## 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 ERA12LA231](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/ERA12LA231), Mar 16, 2012: Firefly Balloons Firefly 8 (N14643), Fitzgerald, GA, substantial damage, 1 fatal. Probable cause: The pilot's intentional flight into adverse weather. Contributing to the accident was the pilot's failure to obtain a weather briefing and his failure to follow the balloon manufacturer's published…

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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