Balloon Works FIRFLY 7 N1506A

Summary

On 20 June 1982 at about 13:45 local time, a Balloon Works FIRFLY 7 registered N1506A, operated by Samco Enterprises, was involved in an accident near Ballwin, Missouri, United States. 2 people were on board and nobody was injured. The aircraft was substantially damaged. No probable cause statement is available for this record.

Date

20 June 1982 at 13:45

Classification

Accident

Location

Ballwin, Missouri, United States

Coordinates

38.5997, -90.5604

Aircraft

Balloon Works FIRFLY 7

Registration

N1506A

Category

Balloon

Operator

Samco Enterprises

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Instructional

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Eureka → Eureka

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

MKC82DA109

Nobody was injured.

The NTSB has not published a probable cause for this record. No probable cause statement is present in the source data.

Nothing about the cause is stated here that is not in the source record.

Read the full NTSB narrative

THE 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 LANDING, AN OPEN FIELD WAS SELECTED. THE FIELD WAS DOWNWIND FROM A RIDGE AND A HIGH VOLTAGE POWER LINE. ACCORDING TO THE CREW MEMBERS, A SEVERE ROTOR OR VERTICAL WING CURL WAS ENCOUNTERED WHICH COLLAPSED THE SIDE OF THE ENVELOPE, ALMOST A THIRD OF ITS VOLUME. REPORTEDLY, THIS OCCURRED AFTER THE LANDING APPROACH WAS ESTABLISHED. THE STUDENT TRIED TO COMPENSATE FOR THE LOST HEAT AND LIFT BY USING BOTH THE MAIN AND THE AUXILLARY BURNERS. BUT WHILE STILL DESCENDING WITH POWER LINES AHEAD, THE PILOT ELECTED TO DEFLATE THE BALLOON FOR AN IMMEDIATE LANDING. HOWEVER, THE ENVELOPE DRAPED OVER THE LINES AND STARTED BURNING WHEN THE LINES ARCED.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.