NTSB investigations: Balloon Works FIREFLY 7
9 cases on aircraft the registry lists as Balloon Works FIREFLY 7, where the first occurrence was “In flight encounter with weather”. Aircraft are matched to the registry by N-number and event date, checked against the reported serial number, make and model, so older matches can be wrong.
Cases per year
| 1982 | 1 |
|---|---|
| 1983 | 1 |
| 1984 | 2 |
| 1985 | 1 |
| 1988 | 1 |
| 1993 | 1 |
| 1995 | 2 |
Where
Open the mapLatest cases
Query with SQL
duckdb -csv -c "SELECT c.\"ntsbNumber\", c.\"eventDate\", c.\"eventType\", c.\"eventCity\", c.\"eventStateOrRegion\", a.n_number, a.\"aircraftMake\", a.\"aircraftModel\", c.\"highestInjuryLevel\", c.\"totalFatal\", c.\"completionStatus\", c.report_url
FROM 'https://openairdocs.org/data/latest/ntsb_case_detail.parquet' c LEFT JOIN 'https://openairdocs.org/data/latest/ntsb_aircrafts.parquet' a ON a.case_mkey = c.\"mKey\" AND a.position = 1
WHERE c.\"mKey\" IN (SELECT x.case_mkey FROM 'https://openairdocs.org/data/latest/ntsb_aircrafts.parquet' x WHERE x.aircraft_model_code IN ('1050100')
AND EXISTS (SELECT 1 FROM 'https://openairdocs.org/data/latest/ntsb_occurrences.parquet' o WHERE o.case_mkey = x.case_mkey AND o.aircrafts_position = x.position AND o.\"occurrenceNumber\" = 1 AND o.\"occurrenceCode\" = 240))
ORDER BY c.\"eventDate\" DESC, c.\"ntsbNumber\" DESC"Prints the whole list as CSV. It reads the release’s Parquet files over HTTPS, so there’s nothing to download first. Install DuckDB to run it.
SELECT c."ntsbNumber", c."eventDate", c."eventType", c."eventCity", c."eventStateOrRegion", a.n_number, a."aircraftMake", a."aircraftModel", c."highestInjuryLevel", c."totalFatal", c."completionStatus", c.report_url
FROM 'https://openairdocs.org/data/latest/ntsb_case_detail.parquet' c LEFT JOIN 'https://openairdocs.org/data/latest/ntsb_aircrafts.parquet' a ON a.case_mkey = c."mKey" AND a.position = 1
WHERE c."mKey" IN (SELECT x.case_mkey FROM 'https://openairdocs.org/data/latest/ntsb_aircrafts.parquet' x WHERE x.aircraft_model_code IN ('1050100')
AND EXISTS (SELECT 1 FROM 'https://openairdocs.org/data/latest/ntsb_occurrences.parquet' o WHERE o.case_mkey = x.case_mkey AND o.aircrafts_position = x.position AND o."occurrenceNumber" = 1 AND o."occurrenceCode" = 240))
ORDER BY c."eventDate" DESC, c."ntsbNumber" DESCRun it at the DuckDB prompt, or in any tool that reads Parquet over HTTPS. More ways to query the release are on Use the data.
NTSB FTW95LA376Accident · Serious injuriesLimited investigationFinal reportBalloon Works Firefly 7 · Colorado Spgs, COAn encounter with a wind shift during landing.NTSB NYC95LA182Accident · Serious injuriesLimited investigationFinal reportBalloon Works Firefly 7 · Owego, NYThe pilot's inadequate evaluation of weather conditions which resulted in an encounter with a downdraft, inflight loss of control, and a collision with a vehicle.NTSB FTW94FA008Accident · 2 fatalField investigationFinal reportBalloon Works FIREFLY-7 · Albuquerque, NMThe p[ilot's improper decision to attempt continued flight under the existing wind conditions. The adverse wind was a contributing factor.NTSB NYC88LA189Accident · No injuriesLimited investigationFinal reportBalloon Works Firefly 7 · Saltsburg, PAThe plt launched on a local Balloon sight-seeing flight at 1850 local time with the forecast of thunderstorm activity to commence in the area after midnight. After 40 mins of smooth flt, the temp dropped sharply and shortly thereafter turbulence was…NTSB DEN85LA234Accident · Serious injuriesLimited investigationFinal reportBalloon Works Firefly 7 · Littleton, COThe plt attempted to land his Balloon in high winds resulting a hard ldg which threw him out of the basket the Balloon then began an immediate asent until a pax pulled the vent line and the Balloon settled rapidly until it hit the grd. Injuries to passengers…NTSB MKC84LA182Accident · Minor injuriesLimited investigationFinal reportBalloon Works Firefly 7 · Overland Park, KSPrior to a sight-seeing flt, the plt orbained a wx briefing & released test balloons to check the wind spd & drctn. The prevailing wind was in a southerly direction at about 8 KTS. The plt of N4070W initiated his departure from a school yard after another…NTSB CHI84LA268Accident · No injuriesLimited investigationFinal reportBarnes AX-7 · Batavia, ILThe plt received a wx briefing before the flt. The 1950 surface observation reported winds from 090 deg at 4 KTS. During flt, the winds suddenly picked up & the plt attempted a landing. A rapid rate of descent developed & the balloon collided with trees…NTSB DEN83FTE03Accident · Serious injuriesFinal reportBalloon Works Firefly 7 · Del Norte, COWhile circumnavigating snow showers at night in mountainous terrain the plt elected to make a precautionary landing on a highway. The acft struck trees on a hillside that the plt hadn't seen in the darkness.NTSB MKC82DA109Accident · No injuriesFinal reportBalloon Works Firfly 7 · Ballwin, MOThe student pilot was demonstrating his ability to make 3 landings to meet the flight requirements for a private pilot rating. The first 2 landing were without incident. After the third takeoff, an increase in the wind velocity was encountered. For the third…