National Ballooning 751-12 N3219T

Summary

On 2 August 2005 at about 00:09 local time, a National Ballooning 751-12 registered N3219T was involved in an accident near Indianola, 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

2 August 2005 at 00:09

Classification

Accident

Location

Indianola, Iowa, United States

Coordinates

41.6028, -93.9492

Aircraft

National Ballooning 751-12

Registration

N3219T

Category

Balloon

Operator

Not recorded

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Personal

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Indianloa → Unknown

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

CHI05CA209

Nobody was injured.

The in-flight fire due to the loose fuel line connection as a result of the pilot's inadequate preflight. 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

A free balloon sustained substantial damage during a forced landing when it impacted power lines after an in-flight fire. The pilot reported that during the preflight checks of the balloon he connected the two liquid propane lines and the pilot light vapor line properly. The pilot reported the balloon lifted off the field and that the burner was functioning normally. When the balloon was about 700 feet above ground level (agl), the pilot observed flames "coming from both the pilot light hose and the tank hose (right side of aircraft and the side where two tanks are manifolded together)." He attempted to put out the fire with his gloved hand, but was unsuccessful. He then shut off the tanks at the tank valves on the right side of the balloon, but the fire continued. He reported that an emergency landing was imminent so he shut off the third tank on the left side of the balloon. Then he rechecked to make sure the manifold valves were shut off. The bottom of the balloon's basket hit the power lines. The balloon continued to descend until the basket impacted the ground. The basket tipped over when it hit the ground, and the pilot and passenger exited the basket. The pilot used the on-board fire extinguisher to put out the fire that was still burning at the hose-burner connection. The pilot reported that once the balloon was removed from the power lines, he retrieved the envelope and basket. He disconnected the fuel lines and the pilot light line while the ground crew put the envelope away. During the inspection of the balloon, the burner and basket were reassembled. The pilot reconnected the fuel lines and the pilot light line. During the burner operational check there were no propane leaks and the burner functioned. Pictures of the propane bottle provided by the fire department appeared to show frost on the pilot light valve.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.