Balloon Works FIRE FLY 7-15 N2597S
2 September 1994 · Storm Lake, Iowa, United States · Serious injuries
Summary
On 2 September 1994 at about 00:15 local time, a Balloon Works FIRE FLY 7-15 registered N2597S, operated by Richard C. Schick, was involved in an accident near Storm Lake, Iowa, United States. 2 people were on board and 2 were seriously injured. The aircraft was substantially damaged. The NTSB has published a probable cause for this accident; it is quoted in full below.
The record
- Date
- at 00:15
- Classification
- Accident
- Location
- Storm Lake, Iowa, United States
- Nearest airport
- Storm Lake Municipal (SLB)
- Coordinates
- 42.6391, -95.1907
- Aircraft
- Balloon Works FIRE FLY 7-15
- Registration
- N2597S
- Category
- Balloon
- Operator
- Richard C. Schick
- Operating rule
- Part 91: General Aviation
- Purpose of flight
- Personal
- Phase of flight
- Not recorded
- Aircraft damage
- Substantial
- Weather
- VMC
- Light
- Day
- NTSB number
- CHI94LA309
People
2 people were seriously injured.
| On board | Died | Serious | Minor | Uninjured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 |
Probable cause
the pilot's excessive rate of descent to landing. Factors in the accident were the gusts and downdraft.
Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record. This site does not paraphrase or interpret it.
Read the full NTSB narrative
According to the pilot, as he approached his destination airport in his hot air balloon, the balloon encountered a downdraft from a dissipating thunderstorm. He intended to bring the hot air balloon down to the ground quickly to avoid the wind from blowing the balloon across the ground. Although he continued burning all the way to the ground, the pilot was unable to stop the balloon's high rate of descent. The gondola impacted the ground hard, rebounded into the air to approximately 100 feet above the ground, and then impacted the ground again. The balloon continued along the ground until it struck power lines where it came to rest.
Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.
Other Balloon Works FIRE accidents
| Date | Aircraft | Location | Operator | Outcome | Died |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 Aug 1993 | Balloon Works FIRE FLY 7-15 | Milford, New Hampshire, United States | - | Serious injuries | - |
| 23 Feb 1986 | Balloon Works FIRE FLY 7 | Keller, Texas, United States | - | Serious injuries | - |
| 24 Mar 1984 | Balloon Works FIRE FLY 8-24 | Phoenix, Arizona, United States | - | Serious injuries | - |
| 8 Apr 1984 | Balloon Works FIRE FLY 6B | Prescott Valley, Arizona, United States | - | Serious injuries | - |
| 7 Apr 1984 | Balloon Works FIRE FLY 7 | Moorpark, California, United States | - | Serious injuries | - |
| 10 Feb 1984 | Balloon Works FIRE FLY 6B | Butler, Pennsylvania, United States | - | No injuries | - |
Other accidents in this area
| Date | Aircraft | Location | Operator | Outcome | Died |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 9 Jul 1994 | Beechcraft 58 | Oelwein, Iowa, United States | ROY J. Durbin | No injuries | - |
| 29 Jul 1994 | Piper PA-32-300 | Marshalltown, Iowa, United States | - | No injuries | - |
| 9 Aug 1994 | Piper PA-34-200 | Marion, Iowa, United States | - | Minor injuries | - |
| 13 Aug 1994 | Snow 600B | Grundy Center, Iowa, United States | - | No injuries | - |
| 21 Aug 1994 | Schreiber-Stitts SA-3B | Muscatine, Iowa, United States | Robert L Schreiber | No injuries | - |
| 26 Aug 1994 | Robert Eldon Idler TIERRA-2 | Prole, Iowa, United States | - | Minor injuries | - |