Balloon Works FIREFLY 7-15 N25491

Summary

On 30 May 1998 at about 11:55 local time, a Balloon Works FIREFLY 7-15 registered N25491 was involved in an accident near Waterloo, Iowa, United States. 2 people were on board and nobody was injured. The aircraft was substantially damaged. The NTSB has published a probable cause for this accident; it is quoted in full below.

Date

30 May 1998 at 11:55

Classification

Accident

Location

Waterloo, Iowa, United States

Coordinates

42.4908, -92.3502

Aircraft

Balloon Works FIREFLY 7-15

Registration

N25491

Category

Balloon

Operator

Not recorded

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Personal

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

CHI98LA184

Nobody was injured.

The pilot's failure to maintain clearance with the power lines during climb. A factor was the power lines.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record. This site does not paraphrase or interpret it.

Read the full NTSB narrative

The accident balloon was part of a balloon rally. The pilot reported that he arrived at the target drop area near the Waterloo Municipal Airport. He further reported that 'After throwing my baggie I started to burn to get enough lift to clear powerlines. It seems to me we were going parallel with the powerlines along Jordan Street and would have cleared the powerlines on West Airline Highway when a gust of wind took us into the powerlines on Jordan Street.' After contacting the wires the balloon slid horizontally down the wires until the basket came to rest alongside a power pole. The pilot secured the basket to the pole using a rope and waited for approximately 2 hours until he and the passenger were lowered out of the basket by the fire department. Calm winds were reported in the area at the time of the accident.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.