- Date
- February 28, 1982, 08:45 local (16:45 UTC)
- Place
- Napa, CA
- Injuries
- 1 minor, 4 uninjured
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Phase of flight
- Landing
- Aircraft
- N40688Barnes Balloon AX7
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report February 28, 1983
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- FAA report
- 19820228000889A
- Case key
- 71823
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 pilot attempted to land short of powerlines after aborting an ascent to safely clear them because of what he reported as unstable air. The gondola bounced and slid into the wires. The pilot stated that electric current passed through the load lines and a fire started when it came in contact with the pilot light hose.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N40688
- Reported as
- Barnes Balloon AX7 (BALLOON AX)
- Category
- Balloon
- Serial number
- A7034
- Airframe hours
- 312
- Engine
- unknown
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Fire
- On-Ground
- Flight
- Part 91
- Operator
- Napa Valley Balloons
- Registered owner
- Napa Valley Balloons
- Departed
- Yountville, CA
- Destination
- SFO · Truckee, CA
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
- 33
- Certificate
- Commercial
- Medical
- Unknown
- Flight hours
- 436 in this make and model
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 160° at 6 knots
- Visibility
- 10 statute miles
FAA reports on this event · 1
The FAA’s own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date.