- Date
- July 28, 1991, 08:35 local (13:35 UTC)
- Place
- Gonzales, LA
- Injuries
- 1 serious, 1 uninjured
- Damage
- Minor damage
- Phase of flight
- Approach
- Aircraft
- N2801FRaven RX7
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report March 31, 1993
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- FAA report
- 19910728030129A
- Case key
- 23378
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
Unfavorable winds at low altitude. A factor was the electrical power lines.
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 a day local area flight the balloon pilot elected to land in an open field. As she passed over a tree line, on short final, the pilot spotted a series of unmarked electrical power lines. The pilot thought that the power lines were not a factor. However, a sudden wind shift changed the direction of the balloon into the power lines. The balloon became entangled with the power lines and the pilot ordered the passenger to jump from an altitude of 8 - 10 above the ground due to electrical arcing. After the passenger was clear the pilot jumped and sustained serious injuries.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N2801F
- Reported as
- Raven RX7
- Category
- Balloon
- Serial number
- RX7-442
- Engine
- unknown
- Damage
- Minor damage
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Operator
- Halone M. Galvin
- Registered owner
- Halone M. Galvin
- Departed
- NONE · Baton Rouge, LA
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
- 38
- Certificate
- Private
- Flight hours
- 112 total · 112 in this make and model · 102 as pilot in command
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- Variable at 5 knots
- Visibility
- 20 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- -0 °F, dew point -0 °F
FAA reports on this event · 1
The FAA’s own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date.