20130107000799I

PILOT ^PRIVACY DATA OMITTED^ WAS PILOT IN COMMAND OF N8900C. THIS BALLOON LIFTED FROM ENCINITAS, CALIFORNIA. SOME PASSENGERS STATED IT WAS WINDY. OTHERS STATED THAT THEY DIDN'T NOTICE THE WIND CONDITIONS.

MOST PASSENGERS REMEMBERED GETTING A PREFLIGHT BRIEFING ABOUT HOW TO ACT WHILE ABOARD THE BALLOON. THERE WERE 13 PASSENGERS TOTAL AND ONE PILOT. THERE WERE 5 PROPANE BOTTLES IN THE BASKET AND SOME CHAMPAGNE AND SOME OTHER CONSUMABLES.

THE BALLOON LIFTED AND TO THE CONFUSION OF MOST OF THE PASSENGERS, THEIR BALLOON, UNLIKE THE OTHER TWO THAT LIFTED WITH THEM, STAYED VERY LOW AFTER TAKEOFF FOR QUITE SOME TIME. SEVERAL OF THE PASSENGERS STATED AND VIDEOED THEIR BASKET DRAGGING THROUGH TREETOPS AWHILE AFTER TAKEOFF. PASSENGERS COULD SEE THAT THE OTHER TWO BALLOONS WERE ALREADY UP TO ALTITUDE 3-4000 FEET, WHILE THEY REMAINED VERY LOW.

THE OTHER TWO BALLOONS HAD ALREADY BEGUN A DESCENT TO A LARGE OPEN FIELD AND THE WEDDING CEREMONY HAD BEEN COMPLETED ONBOARD THE BALLOON. THE PASSENGERS ALL NOTED THE OTHER BALLOONS ALREADY DOWN ON THE GROUND BY THE TIME THEY WERE OVER THAT LANDING SITE AND THAT THEIR BALLOON WAS MOVING QUICKLY OVER THE PROPOSED LANDING SITE AND THAT THEY WERE WAY TOO HIGH. THEY SAW THE GROUND CREW IN PLACE BUT THE BALLOON WAS SO HIGH AND FAST THAT IT FLEW RIGHT BY THE FIRST LANDING SITE.

THE BALLOON CONTINUED ON A SOUTHEASTERLY TRACK ACROSS THE GROUND. THE PASSENGERS SAID THEY COULD HEAR THE PILOT TELLING THE GROUND CREW WHERE HE WAS AND WHERE THEY NEED TO GO TO CATCH UP TO THEIR BALLOON. PASSENGERS VIDEOED THE BALLOONS TRACK AFTER THE FIRST MISSED LANDING AND NOTED THAT THEY WERE VERY LOW OVER THE TOP OF A HIGH SCHOOL AND THAT STUDENTS WERE LOOKING UP AT THEM. (THERE IS VIDEO OF THIS).

THE PILOT ^PRIVACY DATA OMITTED^ DECIDED ON A SECOND SITE IN WHAT LOOKS LIKE A RESIDENTIAL PARK WITH NUMEROUS HOUSES AROUND IT. THE SECOND LANDING ATTEMPT WAS ALSO VIDEOED BY THE PASSENGERS. THIS ATTEMPT SHOWS ^PRIVACY DATA OMITTED^ ATTEMPTING THIS SITE AND THE SPEED ACROSS THE GROUND LOOKS QUITE BRISK, TOO FAST FOR A LANDING APPARENTLY AGAIN AS THE VIDEO AND THE PASSENGER ACCOUNTS SHOW THAT THE BALLOON GROUND CREW ARE RUNNING FAST TRYING TO CATCH UP TO THE BALLOON WHICH NEVER GETS LOW ENOUGH PRESUMABLY BECAUSE ^PRIVACY DATA OMITTED^ DECIDED THAT HE WAS TOO FAST. ^PRIVACY DATA OMITTED^ ADDS A LOT OF GAS AND INITIATES A SECOND BALKED LANDING.

THE BALLOON LIFTS VERY CLOSE TO RESIDENTIAL HOUSES AND CONTINUES TRACKING TO THE SOUTHEAST. ^PRIVACY DATA OMITTED^ SAID LATER THAT HE HAD NEVER SURVEYED HIS ULTIMATE LANDING SITE BUT HAD THE FIRST TWO SITES AS A PRIMARY AND ALTERNATE. PASSENGERS STATED THAT THE BALLOON LIFTED AGAIN AND WAS MOVING NEAR A MAJOR POWERLINE RUNNING BASICALLY NORTH-SOUTH. THEY CROSSED OVER THE TOP OF THE POWER STATION AND WERE DESCENDING FOR A VERY SMALL FIELD JUST SOUTH OF THE POWER STATION. AS THEY DESCENDED PILOT ^PRIVACY DATA OMITTED^ TOLD PASSENGERS TO LOOK AWAY FROM THE LANDING DIRECTION AS OPPOSED TO LOOKING FORWARD TOWARDS THE DIRECTION OF TRAVEL.

THE BALLOON HIT QUITE HARD AND THE APPROACH SPEED WAS FAST. THE BALLOON THEN STRUCK AT LEAST TWICE MORE AND THEN DOWN A SMALL HILL AREA. THE WIND WAS SIGNIFICANT ENOUGH THAT EVEN THOUGH ^PRIVACY DATA OMITTED^ WAS RAPIDLY DEFLATING THE BALLOON, THE BALLOON WAS STILL BEING DRAGGED ALONG THE GROUND. THE BALLOON DRAGGED THEM ALL THE WAY PAST THE PROPOSED LANDING ZONE AND THE BASKET THEN FLATTENED AN INDUSTRIAL CYCLONE TYPE FENCE AND THE BASKET CAME TO REST ON ITS' SIDE. THE BALLOON ENVELOPE DEFLATED AND DRAPED ALL OVER A RESIDENTIAL HOME BACKYARD AND ROOF. PASSENGERS CONFIRMED THERE WAS NEVER A GROUND CREW TO RECOVER THE BALLOON AT THIS CRASH SITE UNTIL WELL AFTER THE BALLOON CRASHED AND THEY WERE ALL OUT OF THE BASKET ON THEIR OWN.

TWO OR THREE PASSENGERS INITIALLY HAD BUMPS AND BRUISES. ONE PASSENGER WAS TRANSPORTED BY PARAMEDICS FOR A BACK INJURY, SHE WAS LATER RELEASED. THE PROPERTY DAMAGE WAS FAIRLY MINOR, AND IN FACT THE BALLOON DAMAGE WAS MOSTLY ISOLATED TO A CUT IN THE ENVELOPE.