Narrative:

Rain clouds noted during preflight preparations to the northwest moving my direction at about 4 knots and not building. Winds shifted slightly during takeoff phase; causing the pilot to change focus of attention to immediate downwind obstacle avoidance (other balloons inflating at the same location). All well with preflight/takeoff phase; however pilot attention focused away from weather to attend to preflight setup; inflation; takeoff; obstacle avoidance. Once airborne and takeoff checklist completed; pilot noted balloon traveling to the northwest instead of the previously observed southwest direction. Pilot then noticed rain clouds to the northwest merged into 1 larger cell (versus 2 smaller cells); increased darkness and seemed closer than previously noted. Pilot tried to activate onboard portable weather radar via ipad however ipad responded unexpectedly and pilot abandoned ipad weather radar to focus more on the weather situation. Pilot noted other balloons at same altitudes traveling some faster; some slower and multiple directions which are abnormal and a sign of decreasing weather conditions. Pilot attempted multiple landings and noted to passengers that winds were getting squirrely and pilot was opting to pick the first available suitable landing site of adequate size. Pilot indicated to passengers that after landing; it would be likely the balloon would deflate in any direction; which is abnormal. Pilot passed on 3 landing sites as 1 had fireworks display; second had power lines on 2 sides of the field and third field missed to last minute wind change. Pilot opted to land in side yard of house with plenty of clearance on 270 degrees of that basket. In other words; the pilot landed the balloon in a yard where the balloon could deflate in any of the 270 degree arc without incident. Downwind landing/deflation area was clear of obstacles. Pilot elected to wait for ground crew assistance for 20 minutes (crew tied up in traffic due to balloon event road-spectator traffic). Ground crew support team arrived and began the process of deflating the balloon in the direction of travel. At the time the pilot noted and verbally stated to all crew/spectators/passengers/other balloon pilots in the same landing field that the wind was starting to change and increasing in strength and opposing direction. At this time; pilot elected to instruct crew to allow the balloon to deflate in the new sudden and strong wind line. Pilot also deployed the rapid deflation port in order to expedite deflation process. This process; coupled with the 120 degree wind shift caused the balloon to blow in the direction of the nearest house. Due to the rapid deflation in the wrong direction; the scene looked chaotic however there was no movement of the basket/pilot/passengers. No damage sustained to house or aircraft or passengers or spectators or pilot. Just looked bad. The biggest issues was the weather which changed between preflight prep and takeoff. Due to takeoff activities it was not noted. Had the pilot taken off five minutes later; the wind shift would have been dually noted or had the pilot taken off 5 minutes earlier would have been able to observe the deteriorating weather and land short.

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Original NASA ASRS Text

Title: Balloon pilot reported getting airborne without detecting that weather in the area may not be suitable for a balloon flight. A landing near a house was required and the balloon was deflated with the emergency deflation cord.

Narrative: Rain clouds noted during preflight preparations to the NW moving my direction at about 4 knots and not building. Winds shifted slightly during takeoff phase; causing the pilot to change focus of attention to immediate downwind obstacle avoidance (other balloons inflating at the same location). All well with preflight/takeoff phase; however pilot attention focused away from weather to attend to preflight setup; inflation; takeoff; obstacle avoidance. Once airborne and takeoff checklist completed; pilot noted balloon traveling to the NW instead of the previously observed SW direction. Pilot then noticed rain clouds to the NW merged into 1 larger cell (versus 2 smaller cells); increased darkness and seemed closer than previously noted. Pilot tried to activate onboard portable weather radar via iPad however iPad responded unexpectedly and pilot abandoned iPad weather radar to focus more on the weather situation. Pilot noted other balloons at same altitudes traveling some faster; some slower and multiple directions which are abnormal and a sign of decreasing weather conditions. Pilot attempted multiple landings and noted to passengers that winds were getting squirrely and pilot was opting to pick the first available suitable landing site of adequate size. Pilot indicated to passengers that after landing; it would be likely the balloon would deflate in any direction; which is abnormal. Pilot passed on 3 landing sites as 1 had fireworks display; second had power lines on 2 sides of the field and third field missed to last minute wind change. Pilot opted to land in side yard of house with plenty of clearance on 270 degrees of that basket. In other words; the pilot landed the balloon in a yard where the balloon could deflate in any of the 270 degree arc without incident. Downwind landing/deflation area was clear of obstacles. Pilot elected to wait for ground crew assistance for 20 minutes (crew tied up in traffic due to balloon event road-spectator traffic). Ground crew support team arrived and began the process of deflating the balloon in the direction of travel. At the time the pilot noted and verbally stated to all crew/spectators/passengers/other balloon pilots in the same landing field that the wind was starting to change and increasing in strength and opposing direction. At this time; pilot elected to instruct crew to allow the balloon to deflate in the new sudden and strong wind line. Pilot also deployed the rapid deflation port in order to expedite deflation process. This process; coupled with the 120 degree wind shift caused the balloon to blow in the direction of the nearest house. Due to the rapid deflation in the wrong direction; the scene looked chaotic however there was no movement of the basket/pilot/passengers. No damage sustained to house or aircraft or passengers or spectators or pilot. Just looked bad. The biggest issues was the weather which changed between preflight prep and takeoff. Due to takeoff activities it was not noted. Had the pilot taken off five minutes later; the wind shift would have been dually noted or had the pilot taken off 5 minutes earlier would have been able to observe the deteriorating weather and land short.

Data retrieved from NASA's ASRS site and automatically converted to unabbreviated mixed upper/lowercase text. This report is for informational purposes with no guarantee of accuracy. See NASA's ASRS site for official report.