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A hot air balloon pilot encounters some unexpected wind resulting in the balloon contacting power lines.
| Attributes | |
| ACN | 614607 |
| Time | |
| Date | 200404 |
| Day | Sat |
| Local Time Of Day | 0601 To 1200 |
| Place | |
| Locale Reference | airport : vcb.airport |
| State Reference | CA |
| Altitude | agl single value : 0 |
| Environment | |
| Flight Conditions | VMC |
| Light | Daylight |
| Aircraft 1 | |
| Operator | general aviation : personal |
| Make Model Name | Balloon |
| Operating Under FAR Part | Part 91 |
| Flight Plan | None |
| Person 1 | |
| Affiliation | other |
| Function | flight crew : single pilot |
| Experience | flight time total : 5500 |
| ASRS Report | 614607 |
| Person 2 | |
| Affiliation | other |
| Function | observation : passenger |
| Events | |
| Anomaly | conflict : ground critical ground encounters other inflight encounter : weather inflight encounter other other anomaly |
| Independent Detector | other flight crewa |
| Resolutory Action | flight crew : regained aircraft control other |
| Consequence | other |
| Supplementary | |
| Problem Areas | Environmental Factor Aircraft Weather Flight Crew Human Performance |
| Primary Problem | Weather |
Narrative:
Flew low over vacaville on approach. Landed in the playground of an elementary school. Winds were to the east at 1/2-1 mph. I let half of my passenger out. We start to move the balloon system to avoid a small tree. The wind picked up to about 10-12 mph going to the south. It pushed the balloon towards power lines. I pulled the deflation port open. The balloon deflated. The top of the balloon touched the power lines and arced. Burned a hole in the envelope. No one was hurt.
Original NASA ASRS Text
Title: A HOT AIR BALLOON PLT ENCOUNTERS SOME UNEXPECTED WIND RESULTING IN THE BALLOON CONTACTING PWR LINES.
Narrative: FLEW LOW OVER VACAVILLE ON APCH. LANDED IN THE PLAYGROUND OF AN ELEMENTARY SCHOOL. WINDS WERE TO THE E AT 1/2-1 MPH. I LET HALF OF MY PAX OUT. WE START TO MOVE THE BALLOON SYS TO AVOID A SMALL TREE. THE WIND PICKED UP TO ABOUT 10-12 MPH GOING TO THE S. IT PUSHED THE BALLOON TOWARDS PWR LINES. I PULLED THE DEFLATION PORT OPEN. THE BALLOON DEFLATED. THE TOP OF THE BALLOON TOUCHED THE PWR LINES AND ARCED. BURNED A HOLE IN THE ENVELOPE. NO ONE WAS HURT.
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.