A hot air balloon had to land in a business park. WX factors unusual wind and shears due to cloud pa...

Attributes
ACN	348265
Time
Date	199609
Day	Sun
Local Time Of Day	1201 To 1800
Place
Locale Reference	airport : wa19
State Reference	WA
Altitude	agl bound lower : 0 agl bound upper : 500
Environment
Flight Conditions	VMC
Light	Daylight
Aircraft 1
Controlling Facilities	tower : jnu
Operator	general aviation : corporate
Make Model Name	Balloon
Operating Under FAR Part	Part 91
Flight Phase	descent : approach landing other
Flight Plan	None
Person 1
Affiliation	Other
Function	flight crew : single pilot
Experience	flight time last 90 days : 38 flight time total : 1650 flight time type : 595
ASRS Report	348265
Events
Anomaly	inflight encounter : weather other anomaly other
Independent Detector	other flight crewa
Resolutory Action	none taken : anomaly accepted
Consequence	Other
Supplementary
Primary Problem	Weather
Air Traffic Incident	other

Narrative:

In sum: a commercial hot air balloon flight had to land on a lawn in an office park in the woodinville-redmond area. The flight had been planned to fly down a valley to an area of farm fields. The reporter sent up 6 pibals prior to liftoff and regularly dropped water over the side to determine the wind direction below. As sunset was approaching, the reporter chose to land on the business property rather than proceed to an area of homes and heavy woods. The flight took place on sun afternoon and the office park was deserted. The reporter includes a detailed analysis of the wind patterns in this valley and why this day proved to be an exception. The final wind direction was determined by a low level windshear that was not predicted.

Original NASA ASRS Text

Title: A HOT AIR BALLOON HAD TO LAND IN A BUSINESS PARK. WX FACTORS UNUSUAL WIND AND SHEARS DUE TO CLOUD PATTERNS.

Narrative: IN SUM: A COMMERCIAL HOT AIR BALLOON FLT HAD TO LAND ON A LAWN IN AN OFFICE PARK IN THE WOODINVILLE-REDMOND AREA. THE FLT HAD BEEN PLANNED TO FLY DOWN A VALLEY TO AN AREA OF FARM FIELDS. THE RPTR SENT UP 6 PIBALS PRIOR TO LIFTOFF AND REGULARLY DROPPED WATER OVER THE SIDE TO DETERMINE THE WIND DIRECTION BELOW. AS SUNSET WAS APCHING, THE RPTR CHOSE TO LAND ON THE BUSINESS PROPERTY RATHER THAN PROCEED TO AN AREA OF HOMES AND HVY WOODS. THE FLT TOOK PLACE ON SUN AFTERNOON AND THE OFFICE PARK WAS DESERTED. THE RPTR INCLUDES A DETAILED ANALYSIS OF THE WIND PATTERNS IN THIS VALLEY AND WHY THIS DAY PROVED TO BE AN EXCEPTION. THE FINAL WIND DIRECTION WAS DETERMINED BY A LOW LEVEL WINDSHEAR THAT WAS NOT PREDICTED.

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.

A hot air balloon had to land in a business park. WX factors unusual wind and shears due to cloud patterns.