# NTSB investigations: Balloon Works FIREFLY 7, 1985

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 CHI86LA018](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/CHI86LA018.md): Balloon Works Firefly 7 · Comstock Park, MI · Accident · No injuries · Limited investigation · Final report · Oct 29, 1985 · N4056L · Substantial damage
  > According to the pilot she received wind information from a flight service station, the noaa and ATIS approximately 1.5 hours prior to takeoff. All these sources predicted winds to be less than 7 knots. Winds were 'very light' during Balloon inflation. The…
- [NTSB DEN85LA234](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/DEN85LA234.md): Balloon Works Firefly 7 · Littleton, CO · Accident · Serious injuries · Limited investigation · Final report · Sep 1, 1985 · N2259H · No damage
  > The plt attempted to land his Balloon in high winds resulting a hard ldg which threw him out of the basket the Balloon then began an immediate asent until a pax pulled the vent line and the Balloon settled rapidly until it hit the grd. Injuries to passengers…
- [NTSB MKC85LA185](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/MKC85LA185.md): Balloon Works Firefly 7 · Shawnee, KS · Accident · Serious injuries · Limited investigation · Final report · Aug 11, 1985 · N40468 · No damage
  > The commercial Balloon plt was giving a ride to three paying passengers. Plt stated that during the landing apch higher than normal winds were present so he briefed the passengers to lean against the side of the basket. He stated that he pulled the deflation…
- [NTSB DEN85FA196](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/DEN85FA196.md): Balloon Works Firefly 7 · Brighton, CO · Accident · Serious injuries · Field investigation · Final report · Jul 23, 1985 · N40501 · Destroyed
  > A hot air Balloon owned and flown by the plt collided with electrical power lines during an attempted landing. The basket of the Balloon caught fire upon contact with the wires. The occupants leaped from the burning basket sustaining serious injuries. The…
- [NTSB ATL85LA204](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/ATL85LA204.md): Balloon Works Firefly 7 · Owensboro, KY · Accident · Serious injuries · Limited investigation · Final report · Jul 3, 1985 · N1534C · Substantial damage
  > Pilot launched Balloon from college campus with two pax. Flew for 35 minutes. During flight he radioed ground crew which was at landing site. During descent pilot saw utility wires previously unnoticed. Parachute was ventd to increase descent rate and avoid…
- [NTSB CHI85FEE02](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/CHI85FEE02.md): Balloon Works Firefly AX-7 · Somonauk, IL · Accident · Serious injuries · Final report · Jun 18, 1985 · N40532 · Substantial damage
  > The Balloon collided with powerlines during takeoff. The wind was reported as 10-15 mph with gusts. The operation was canceled due to the wind after 6 successful launches. The last plt was reportedly pressured to go by his pass'g and a gust of wind blew them…
- [NTSB ATL85LLT07](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/ATL85LLT07.md): Barnes FF-7 · Franklin, TN · Accident · Serious injuries · Final report · May 8, 1985 · N4049Y · Minor damage
  > The plt noticed a power line extending across the field he had selected for landing at which time air was released from the envelope for an emergency descent. As the basket touched down, the envelope drifted into the line. A passenger was seriously injuried…
- [NTSB FTW85LA153](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/FTW85LA153.md): Balloon Works Firefly 7 · Arlington, TX · Accident · Serious injuries · Limited investigation · Final report · Mar 17, 1985 · N4065D · Destroyed
  > According to the passenger, a gust of wind caused the Balloon to become airborne prematurely and drift toward pwr lines. Aprx 25 ft from the wires the plt attempted to abort the takeoff by deflating the envelope. Just prior to wire contact the passenger…

## 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") = 1985
  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=1985

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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.