- Date
- May 13, 1994, 18:52 local (22:52 UTC)
- Place
- Burlington, NC
- Injuries
- 2 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Enroute
- Aircraft
- N1511MBalloon Works Firefly 7-B
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report April 12, 1995
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- FAA report
- 19940513015999A
- Case key
- 3384
From the NTSB’s public API. By law, NTSB reports can’t be used as evidence in lawsuits over the accident.
On this page
Probable cause
Inadvertent burner control interference by the passenger. A factor was the presence of electric transmission wires at the forced landing site.
Sequence of events
NTSB’s coding before 2008: each occurrence and phase of flight, and the causes and factors under it. The codes are defined in NTSB’s coding manual.
Analysis
During flight the passenger inadvertently leaned on the throttle control handle, shutting off gas to the burner. The pilot was unable to relight the burner, and a forced landing was made adjacent to power lines. The envelope contacted the power lines and caught fire.
Factual narrative
On May 13, 1994, at 1852 eastern daylight time, a Balloon Works Firefly 7-B, N1511M, collided with electric transmission wires during a forced landing in Burlington, North Carolina. The private pilot and one passenger were not injured. The balloon was substantially damaged. The balloon was operated under 14 CFR Part 91 by the pilot. Visual meteorological conditions existed at the time, and no flight plan was filed for the local, personal flight. The flight originated at the Burlington-Alamance Airport at 1830.
An inspector from the Federal Aviation Administration interviewed the pilot and inspected the balloon. He reported the following: During cruise flight, the passenger inadvertently leaned on the throttle control handle, shutting off gas to the burner. The pilot attempted to relight the burner, but was unsuccessful. A forced landing was attempted in a field. The gondola touched down hard, adjacent to power lines, and the envelope contacted the wires. A fire to the envelope resulted, which was then extinguished.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N1511M
- Reported as
- Balloon Works Firefly 7-B (FIREFLY 7-)
- Category
- Balloon
- Serial number
- F7B-036
- Airframe hours
- 262
- Engine
- unknown
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Fire
- On-Ground
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Operator
- Carter, William A.
- Registered owner
- Carter, William A.
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Last inspection
- Annual · January 4, 1994 · 5 hours before
Matched to the registry by N-number and the event date; the registry’s history has gaps, so older matches can be wrong. Compare the reported make and model.
Flight crew
As NTSB recorded them. NTSB leaves out names.
- Role
- Pilot
- Age
- 44
- Certificate
- Private
- Medical
- Unknown
- Flight hours
- 161 total · 161 in this make and model · 161 as pilot in command · 4 in the last 90 days · 2 in the last 30 days · 1 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 230° at 7 knots
- Visibility
- 15 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 63 °F, dew point 43 °F
- Altimeter
- 30.00 inHg
- Observed at
- GSO, 20 nm away
FAA reports on this event · 1
The FAA’s own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date.