20130720014039I

Incident · No damage

FAA incident report · Balloon Works FIREFLY 8B-15 · Goshen, IN · July 20, 2013

Date
July 20, 2013 · 18:00 local
Place
Goshen, IN
Phase of flight
Landing: Touchdown
Operating rules
General operating rules (Part 91)
Damage
No damage
Aircraft
N31544
Reported as
Balloon Works Firefly 8B-15
Reported engine
NONE NONE
People aboard
3
Fatal injuries
0
Other injuries
2
Pilot’s certificates
Commercial pilot, flight instructor
Pilot’s flight hours
250 total850 in this make and model3 in the last 90 days

From the FAA’s Accident/Incident Data System (AIDS), through its Aviation Safety Information Portal, as reported. The NTSB investigates accidents separately, and its record of an accident is the fuller one. The aircraft is matched to the registry 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.

What happened

The FAA’s narrative, in sentence case. The FAA writes it in capitals and removes private details.

Pilot reported that his passengers saw how gentle the other balloons were landing and must not have been holding on a tight as he told them to. During landing the basket caught the edge of the taxiway and rolled over. The passengers fell out of the basket. Both passengers received minor injuries however, one passenger was treated and released by EMT personnel who were called to the scene. After the two passengers fell out, the Balloon became much lighter and started to ascend rapidly. The pilot saw powerlines in front of him so he added power to make sure he cleared the lines. He landed safely in a field about a mile south of the airport.

As the FAA filed it

PILOT REPORTED THAT HIS PASSENGERS SAW HOW GENTLE THE OTHER BALLOONS WERE LANDING AND MUST NOT HAVE BEEN HOLDING ON A TIGHT AS HE TOLD THEM TO. DURING LANDING THE BASKET CAUGHT THE EDGE OF THE TAXIWAY AND ROLLED OVER. THE PASSENGERS FELL OUT OF THE BASKET. BOTH PASSENGERS RECEIVED MINOR INJURIES HOWEVER, ONE PASSENGER WAS TREATED AND RELEASED BY EMT PERSONNEL WHO WERE CALLED TO THE SCENE. AFTER THE TWO PASSENGERS FELL OUT, THE BALLOON BECAME MUCH LIGHTER AND STARTED TO ASCEND RAPIDLY. THE PILOT SAW POWERLINES IN FRONT OF HIM SO HE ADDED POWER TO MAKE SURE HE CLEARED THE LINES. HE LANDED SAFELY IN A FIELD ABOUT A MILE SOUTH OF THE AIRPORT.