# Accident 20190810024649A: Head Balloons Inc AX9-118, Galt, CA, August 10, 2019

- Type: FAA accident report (Accident/Incident Data System), as reported
- Date: August 10, 2019, 08:39 local time
- Place: Galt, CA
- Damage: Minor damage
- Phase of flight: Other, Specify
- Location: 38.2685° N, 121.2990° W: Placed by OpenAirDocs: center of Galt, CA, within about 6 miles (OpenAirDocs)
- Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=38.2685&lon=-121.2990&mi=10
- Aircraft: N2027S, registered now (https://openairdocs.org/aircraft/N2027S) (OpenAirDocs)
- Registry model: Head Balloons AX9-118 (registry code 4280102, https://openairdocs.org/model/head-balloons-ax9-118) (OpenAirDocs)
- Registry engine: NONE (registry code 00000, https://openairdocs.org/engine/none) (OpenAirDocs)
- Reported make and model: HEAD BALLOONS INC AX9-118
- Reported engine: NONE NONE
- People aboard: 1
- Fatal injuries: 0
- Other injuries: 1
- Pilot certificates: Commercial pilot
- Pilot flight hours: 1,047 total
- FAA source: FAA Aviation Safety Information Portal (https://asip.faa.gov/)
- Page: https://openairdocs.org/incident/20190810024649A

## Narrative

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

AUGUST 10, 2019, TIME WAS 0845, BALLOON FESTIVAL AT ^PRIVACY DATA OMITTED^, GALT CALIFORNIA. PUBLIC DISPLAY AND TETHERED BALLOON RIDES TO THE PUBLIC.

AFTER MULTIPLE SUCCESSFUL EARLIER TETHER RIDES, THE THREE TETHERED BALLOONS DECIDED TO END RIDES DUE TO INCREASING WIND AND POTENTIAL THERMAL ACTIVITY. BALLOON WAS TETHERED TO THREE TRUCKS, AND WAS SUDDENLY LIFTED BY WIND (FALSE-LIFT), TO APPROXIMATELY 50FT, (ONLY THE PILOT WAS ON BOARD), AND ONE ROPE SNAPPED, THEN A SECOND. BALLOON WAS HELD BY ONLY ONE ROPE, AND BEGAN TO TWIST. PILOT ORDERED THE LAST ROPE TO BE CUT FOR SAFETY AND BEGAN A FLIGHT, UNFORTUNATELY TOWARDS POWER LINES. PILOT APPLIED BURNER HEAT TO RISE OVER THE WIRES WHICH ALSO BURNED A PANEL OF THE NOMEX FIREPROOF SKIRT ABOVE. AFTER SAFELY AVOIDING THE WIRES HE CHOSE TO LAND IMMEDIATELY IN THE NEXT FIELD. THE BALLOON WAS NOT FULLY INFLATED BY THIS POINT AND THE DECENT WAS FAST  WITH A HARD LANDING.

PILOT EXITED THE BASKET AND WAS ATTENDED TO BY EMERGENCY SERVICES AND DIAGNOSED BY A NEUROLOGIST WITH A TAILBONE "SIMPLE COMPRESSION FRACTURE OF L1".

## NTSB investigation

None matched to this report by aircraft and date. Search the NTSB's own records: https://data.ntsb.gov/carol-main-public/basic-search

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.

---
OpenAirDocs.org is an independent research project of [Contrail Labs](https://contraillabs.com/). It is not affiliated with the FAA or the NTSB. Source documents are U.S. government works in the public domain.