Narrative:

Hot air balloon, model ax-8B-15, landed in restr area R2501-west bullion mountains, west, without prior authority/authorized from the controling agency, ZLA or the united states marine corps air ground combat training center, twenty-nine palms, ca. The flight plan called for a balloon launch from an alfalfa field in the town of hinkley, ca, towards the victor valley area of victorville and apple valley, ca. Specifically, the plan called for avoidance of all sua, MOA's, and restr areas in the barstow and twenty-nine palms region. During the balloon flight, a number of altitude changes were executed, seeking winds to carry the balloon away from the sua's. The altitude changes did not produce any significant change in the general flight path. Therefore, a landing site was selected that the pilot believed to be west of all sua, and accessible to the balloon retrieval crews that were following in 3 chase vehicles. The pilot believed that he was landing next to a public access, wide, 2-LANE dirt road in a large valley west of R2501, south of linsley hills, north of hartwell hills, and west of emerson dry lake. After the flight, consultation with the united states marine corps retrieval team and then later analysis of a detailed topographic map, established that the landing site was within the boundaries of R2501-west. A factor contributing to the problem is the difficulty of determining boundaries over very barren terrain with very few recognizable features. Use of a moving map GPS would have been helpful, however, the cost of such an instrument is prohibitive to many recreational balloonists.

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Original NASA ASRS Text

Title: A LOW TIME BALLOONIST VIOLATED R2501-W AIRSPACE.

Narrative: HOT AIR BALLOON, MODEL AX-8B-15, LANDED IN RESTR AREA R2501-W BULLION MOUNTAINS, W, WITHOUT PRIOR AUTH FROM THE CTLING AGENCY, ZLA OR THE UNITED STATES MARINE CORPS AIR GND COMBAT TRAINING CTR, TWENTY-NINE PALMS, CA. THE FLT PLAN CALLED FOR A BALLOON LAUNCH FROM AN ALFALFA FIELD IN THE TOWN OF HINKLEY, CA, TOWARDS THE VICTOR VALLEY AREA OF VICTORVILLE AND APPLE VALLEY, CA. SPECIFICALLY, THE PLAN CALLED FOR AVOIDANCE OF ALL SUA, MOA'S, AND RESTR AREAS IN THE BARSTOW AND TWENTY-NINE PALMS REGION. DURING THE BALLOON FLT, A NUMBER OF ALT CHANGES WERE EXECUTED, SEEKING WINDS TO CARRY THE BALLOON AWAY FROM THE SUA'S. THE ALT CHANGES DID NOT PRODUCE ANY SIGNIFICANT CHANGE IN THE GENERAL FLT PATH. THEREFORE, A LNDG SITE WAS SELECTED THAT THE PLT BELIEVED TO BE W OF ALL SUA, AND ACCESSIBLE TO THE BALLOON RETRIEVAL CREWS THAT WERE FOLLOWING IN 3 CHASE VEHICLES. THE PLT BELIEVED THAT HE WAS LNDG NEXT TO A PUBLIC ACCESS, WIDE, 2-LANE DIRT ROAD IN A LARGE VALLEY W OF R2501, S OF LINSLEY HILLS, N OF HARTWELL HILLS, AND W OF EMERSON DRY LAKE. AFTER THE FLT, CONSULTATION WITH THE UNITED STATES MARINE CORPS RETRIEVAL TEAM AND THEN LATER ANALYSIS OF A DETAILED TOPOGRAPHIC MAP, ESTABLISHED THAT THE LNDG SITE WAS WITHIN THE BOUNDARIES OF R2501-W. A FACTOR CONTRIBUTING TO THE PROB IS THE DIFFICULTY OF DETERMINING BOUNDARIES OVER VERY BARREN TERRAIN WITH VERY FEW RECOGNIZABLE FEATURES. USE OF A MOVING MAP GPS WOULD HAVE BEEN HELPFUL, HOWEVER, THE COST OF SUCH AN INST IS PROHIBITIVE TO MANY RECREATIONAL BALLOONISTS.

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.