- Date
- August 6, 1983, 07:45 local (12:45 UTC)
- Place
- Fort Worth, TX
- Injuries
- 2 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Approach
- Aircraft
- N3609CBalloon Works Firefly AX-7
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- FAA report
- 19830806039229A
- Case key
- 20753
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 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 power lines beyond & slightly lower than the antenna. After safely clearing the antenna the plt noticed the power lines. Feeling that a vertical climb over the lines was not possible, he elected to rip out the balloon top resulting in a vertical descent contacting the wires on the way to the ground.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N3609C
- Reported as
- Balloon Works Firefly AX-7 (FIREFLY AX)
- Category
- Balloon
- Serial number
- F7-026
- Engine
- unknown
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Fire
- Unknown
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Registered owner
- John J. Quincy
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Last inspection
- Unknown · May 1, 1983
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
- 35
- Certificate
- Private
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land
- Medical
- Unknown
- Flight hours
- 74 total · 25 in this make and model · 57 as pilot in command · 13 in the last 90 days · 1 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 275° at 6 knots
- Visibility
- 7 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 75 °F
- Altimeter
- 29.00 inHg
FAA reports on this event · 1
The FAA’s own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date.