# NTSB investigations: Balloon Works FIREFLY 7, 1983

NTSB aviation accident and incident investigations since 1962: the probable cause, findings, aircraft, crew, weather and docket of each, linked to the FAA registry and the FAA’s own reports.

## Latest cases

- [NTSB FTW84LA087](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/FTW84LA087.md): Balloon Works Firefly 7 · Albuquerque, NM · Accident · No injuries · Limited investigation · Final report · Dec 3, 1983 · N4061P · Substantial damage
  > The plt reported that during flt, unfavorable winds were encountered. An apch was made to a golf course, but the plt aborted dur to high winds. A short time later, an apch was made to a park area. According to the plt, the wind switched as the Balloon touched…
- [NTSB DEN84LA043](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/DEN84LA043.md): Balloon Works Firefly 7 · Monte Vista, CO · Accident · Serious injuries · Limited investigation · Final report · Nov 11, 1983 · N2416H · No damage
  > The plt was participating in a 'hare & hounds' Balloon contest. The aircrews were wx briefed at the launch site before the event. Reportedly, there was a front approaching but it was not expected to move thru until about 2 to 3 hrs after the contest.…
- [NTSB CHI84LA018](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/CHI84LA018.md): Balloon Works Firefly 7 · Dorr, MI · Accident · Serious injuries · Limited investigation · Final report · Oct 9, 1983 · N1533N · No damage
  > During landing the basket hit a hill resulting in the basket stopping suddenly & ejecting the plt & passengers from the basket. The plt thought a passenger was still in the basket so she grabbed the valve line & hung on as the Balloon rose approximately 100…
- [NTSB FTW83FA364](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/FTW83FA364.md): Balloon Works Firefly AX-7 · Fort Worth, TX · Accident · No injuries · Field investigation · Final report · Aug 6, 1983 · N3609C · Substantial damage
  > The intended landing area was a parking lot. Adjacent to the lot was a one-story building on top of which a tv antenna about 20 ft above the roof top. In an effort to clear the antenna during the descent to the parking lot, the pltwas not aware of a set of…
- [NTSB CHI83LA318](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/CHI83LA318.md): Barnes AX-7 · Utica, MI · Accident · No injuries · Limited investigation · Final report · Jul 17, 1983 · N1515K · Destroyed
  > The student pilot made a delayed decision to land and landed within a few ft of wires without seeing them. The ground crew tried to hold him but the balloon still had too much lift. The student then saw the wires and tried to go over thembut the collision…
- [NTSB MKC83LA140](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/MKC83LA140.md): Balloon Works Fire FLY 7 · Ellsworth, KS · Accident · Serious injuries · Limited investigation · Final report · Jul 2, 1983 · N1531N · Substantial damage
  > The Balloon collided with a radio tower during takeoff. The wind was reported to be from 180 degrees at 12-18 KTS. There is no evidence that this plt received weather briefing. This Balloon was launched closer to the tower than any of the other balloons…
- [NTSB CHI83LA265](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/CHI83LA265.md): Balloon Works Firefly 7 · Flint, MI · Accident · 1 fatal · Limited investigation · Final report · Jun 19, 1983 · N27114 · Substantial damage
  > After takeoff, the plt leveled the Balloon, and a short time later, he collapsed to the floor of the gondola & had difficulty breathing. The Balloon began descending. Subsequently, it hit the porch of a house & was damaged. The plt died from acute myocardial…
- [NTSB DEN83FTE03](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/DEN83FTE03.md): Balloon Works Firefly 7 · Del Norte, CO · Accident · Serious injuries · Final report · May 30, 1983 · N1516S · No damage
  > While circumnavigating snow showers at night in mountainous terrain the plt elected to make a precautionary landing on a highway. The acft struck trees on a hillside that the plt hadn't seen in the darkness.
- [NTSB CHI83LA134](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/CHI83LA134.md): Balloon Works Firefly AX-7 · Augusta, MI · Accident · No injuries · Limited investigation · Final report · Mar 12, 1983 · N4057K · Substantial damage
  > The Balloon made a hard landing and ejected the pilot and passenger. The landing was made in a school parking lot. Afterdropping the occupants the Balloon contacted power lines with the envelope. The occurants were not injured.

## The whole list in SQL

Runs in DuckDB 1.2 or later on the release's Parquet files over HTTPS:

```sql
SELECT c."ntsbNumber", c."eventDate", c."eventType", c."eventCity", c."eventStateOrRegion", a.n_number, a."aircraftMake", a."aircraftModel", c."highestInjuryLevel", c."totalFatal", c."completionStatus", c.report_url
FROM 'https://openairdocs.org/data/latest/ntsb_case_detail.parquet' c LEFT JOIN 'https://openairdocs.org/data/latest/ntsb_aircrafts.parquet' a ON a.case_mkey = c."mKey" AND a.position = 1
WHERE year(c."eventDate") = 1983
  AND c."mKey" IN (SELECT x.case_mkey FROM 'https://openairdocs.org/data/latest/ntsb_aircrafts.parquet' x WHERE x.aircraft_model_code IN ('1050100'))
ORDER BY c."eventDate" DESC, c."ntsbNumber" DESC
```

This list as a web page: https://openairdocs.org/ntsb?model=1050100&year=1983

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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.
