# Accident 20170608005269A: Head Balloons Inc AX7 77B, Chatsworth, IL, June 8, 2017

- Type: FAA accident report (Accident/Incident Data System), as reported
- Date: June 8, 2017, 18:30 local time
- Place: Chatsworth, IL
- Damage: No damage
- Phase of flight: Climb
- Operating rules: General operating rules (Part 91)
- Location: 40.7536° N, 88.2919° W: From the FAA
- Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=40.7536&lon=-88.2919&mi=10
- Aircraft: N30721, a cancelled registration (https://openairdocs.org/deregistered/N30721-2023-11-04) (OpenAirDocs)
- Registry model: Head Balloons AX7 77B (registry code 4280101, https://openairdocs.org/model/head-balloons-ax7-77b) (OpenAirDocs)
- Reported make and model: HEAD BALLOONS INC AX7 77B
- Reported engine: N/A N/A
- People aboard: 3
- Fatal injuries: 0
- Other injuries: 1
- Pilot certificates: Commercial pilot
- Pilot flight hours: 800 total
- NTSB investigation: [NTSB CEN17LA223](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/CEN17LA223) (OpenAirDocs)
- FAA source: FAA Aviation Safety Information Portal (https://asip.faa.gov/)
- Page: https://openairdocs.org/incident/20170608005269A

## Narrative

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

WHILE OPERATING COMMERCIALY AT A PUBLIC COMMUNITY EVENT IN CHATSWORTH IL THE PILOT LOST CONTROL OF HIS AIRCRAFT  DUE TO UNEXPECTED GUST OF WIND. THE PILOT STRUGGLED TO MAINTAIN CONTROL OF HIS AIRCRAFT AND FELL OUT OF THE BALLOONS BASKET AS RESULT OF FIRST ABRUPT CONTACT WITH THE GROUND. TWO PASSENGERS STILL REMAINED IN THE BASKET AND ASCENDED BRIEFLY WHILE TRAVELING APPROX 1/4 MILE AND DESCENDED INTO A BEAN FIELD. ONE PASSENGER WAS SERIOUSLY INJURED AND TRANSPORTED TO AN AREA HOSPITAL WITH A FRACTURED TAILBONE WHILE OTHER PASSENGER WAS OK.

## 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 CEN17LA223](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/CEN17LA223), Jun 8, 2017: Head Balloons AX7 77B (N30721), Chatsworth, IL, minor damage. Probable cause: The balloon’s encounter with unexpected wind gusts during inflation, which resulted in the balloon becoming prematurely airborne and subsequently the pilot being ejected from the basket and one…

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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