- Date
- July 16, 1985, 19:50 local (23:50 UTC)
- Place
- Battle Creek, MI
- Injuries
- 1 serious, 2 uninjured
- Phase of flight
- Enroute
- Aircraft
- N1533SBalloon Works Firefly 6BIFROGCameron V-77
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- FAA report
- 19850716071312A
- Case key
- 13144
From the NTSB’s public API. By law, NTSB reports can’t be used as evidence in lawsuits over the accident.
On this page
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
The envelope of balloon N1533S was penetrated and torn by the basket of balloon i-frog. The envelope was damaged to the degree that altitude could not be sustained. The aeronqut of N1533S was seriously injured upon ground impact. I-frog was landed without damage or injury.
Aircraft · 2
- Registration
- N1533S
- Reported as
- Balloon Works Firefly 6B
- Category
- Balloon
- Serial number
- 10216
- Airframe hours
- 180
- Engine
- None NONE, unknown
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Part 91
- Registered owner
- Alan Blount
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Last inspection
- 100 hour · September 6, 1984 · 24 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.
- Registration
- IFROG
- Reported as
- Cameron V-77
- Category
- Balloon
- Serial number
- 848
- Airframe hours
- 120
- Engine
- None NONE, unknown
- Damage
- No damage
- Flight
- Part 91
- Registered owner
- Sport Promotion Srl
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Last inspection
- Annual · May 17, 1985 · 25 hours before
Flight crew · 2
As NTSB recorded them. NTSB leaves out names.
- Role
- Pilot, aircraft N1533S
- Age
- 38
- Certificate
- Commercial
- Flight hours
- 402 total · 402 in this make and model · 392 as pilot in command · 14 in the last 90 days · 1 in the last 24 hours
- Role
- Pilot, aircraft 2
- Age
- 28
- Certificate
- Flight instructor
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land
- Medical
- Unknown, Unknown
- Flight hours
- 637 total · 481 in this make and model · 27 in the last 90 days · 4 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 300° at 3 knots
- Visibility
- 15 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 79 °F, dew point 50 °F
FAA reports on this event · 1
The FAA’s own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date.