20140729015329I

Incident · No damage

FAA incident report · Balloon Works FIREFLY 7B-15 · Indianola, IA · July 29, 2014

Date: July 29, 2014 · 19:45 local
Place: Indianola, IA
Airport: Indianola
Phase of flight: Landing: Approach
Operating rules: General operating rules (Part 91)
Damage: No damage
Aircraft: N7090T
Reported as: Balloon Works Firefly 7B-15
Reported engine: NONE NONE
People aboard: 2
Fatal injuries: 0
Other injuries: 0
Pilot’s certificate: Commercial pilot
Pilot’s flight hours: 1,051 total700 in this make and model

N7090TRegistration cancelled May 1, 2020 · Balloon Works FIREFLY 7B-15S/N F7B386 · Built 1999 Airframe modelBalloon Works FIREFLY 7B-15 Engine modelNONENone

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.

A Balloon pilot, participating in the Indianola Balloon event, descended too low and activated the Balloon valve line to land in an attempt to avoid hitting power lines. The Balloon basket made contact with the ground and the Balloon envelope landed in the power line. The electric current interrupter went off. Pilot and passenger remained in the basket until cleared by power company. There were no injuries and no damage to the Balloon.

As the FAA filed it

A BALLOON PILOT, PARTICIPATING IN THE INDIANOLA BALLOON EVENT, DESCENDED TOO LOW AND ACTIVATED THE BALLOON VALVE LINE TO LAND IN AN ATTEMPT TO AVOID HITTING POWER LINES. THE BALLOON BASKET MADE CONTACT WITH THE GROUND AND THE BALLOON ENVELOPE LANDED IN THE POWER LINE. THE ELECTRIC CURRENT INTERRUPTER WENT OFF. PILOT AND PASSENGER REMAINED IN THE BASKET UNTIL CLEARED BY POWER COMPANY. THERE WERE NO INJURIES AND NO DAMAGE TO THE BALLOON.