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A hot air balloon pilot had to land in a residential area. His dropline uprooted a stop sign in the process.
| Attributes | |
| ACN | 347867 |
| Time | |
| Date | 199609 |
| Day | Sun |
| Local Time Of Day | 1801 To 2400 |
| Place | |
| Locale Reference | airport : pae |
| State Reference | WA |
| Altitude | agl bound lower : 0 agl bound upper : 0 |
| Environment | |
| Flight Conditions | VMC |
| Light | Daylight |
| Aircraft 1 | |
| Make Model Name | Balloon |
| Operating Under FAR Part | Part 91 |
| Flight Phase | cruise other descent : approach landing other |
| Flight Plan | None |
| Person 1 | |
| Affiliation | Other |
| Function | flight crew : single pilot |
| Qualification | pilot : commercial |
| Experience | flight time last 90 days : 52 flight time total : 642 flight time type : 642 |
| ASRS Report | 347867 |
| Events | |
| Anomaly | conflict : ground critical inflight encounter : weather other anomaly other |
| Independent Detector | other flight crewa |
| Resolutory Action | none taken : detected after the fact |
| Consequence | Other |
| Supplementary | |
| Primary Problem | Weather |
| Air Traffic Incident | other |
Narrative:
In sum: after a proper WX briefing and launch of several pibals, a hot air balloon pilot launched from a site familiar to him in the late afternoon. He drifted towards a residential area and sought winds that would steer him away, but to no avail. As darkness was approaching, the reporter selected a cul-de-sac for landing. His ground crew tied off his dropline to a stop sign that was uprooted, then later 'replanted.' the basket touched a roof on the way down. The balloon was removed to the street, then packed up with no damage to the balloon or any structure except the stop sign. The reporter believes that this incident was caused by an unusual overcast condition that did not allow the usual WX pattern to develop.
Original NASA ASRS Text
Title: A HOT AIR BALLOON PLT HAD TO LAND IN A RESIDENTIAL AREA. HIS DROPLINE UPROOTED A STOP SIGN IN THE PROCESS.
Narrative: IN SUM: AFTER A PROPER WX BRIEFING AND LAUNCH OF SEVERAL PIBALS, A HOT AIR BALLOON PLT LAUNCHED FROM A SITE FAMILIAR TO HIM IN THE LATE AFTERNOON. HE DRIFTED TOWARDS A RESIDENTIAL AREA AND SOUGHT WINDS THAT WOULD STEER HIM AWAY, BUT TO NO AVAIL. AS DARKNESS WAS APCHING, THE RPTR SELECTED A CUL-DE-SAC FOR LNDG. HIS GND CREW TIED OFF HIS DROPLINE TO A STOP SIGN THAT WAS UPROOTED, THEN LATER 'REPLANTED.' THE BASKET TOUCHED A ROOF ON THE WAY DOWN. THE BALLOON WAS REMOVED TO THE STREET, THEN PACKED UP WITH NO DAMAGE TO THE BALLOON OR ANY STRUCTURE EXCEPT THE STOP SIGN. THE RPTR BELIEVES THAT THIS INCIDENT WAS CAUSED BY AN UNUSUAL OVCST CONDITION THAT DID NOT ALLOW THE USUAL WX PATTERN TO DEVELOP.
Data retrieved from NASA's ASRS site as of July 2007 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.