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A pilot reported losing control of his balloon due to gusty winds; which resulted in a brief contact with power lines.
| Attributes | |
| ACN | 1668890 |
| Time | |
| Date | 201907 |
| Local Time Of Day | 0001-0600 |
| Place | |
| Locale Reference | ZZZ.Airport |
| State Reference | US |
| Environment | |
| Light | Dusk |
| Aircraft 1 | |
| Make Model Name | Balloon |
| Operating Under FAR Part | Part 91 |
| Flight Phase | Final Approach |
| Route In Use | Direct |
| Flight Plan | None |
| Person 1 | |
| Function | Single Pilot |
| Qualification | Flight Crew Private |
| Experience | Flight Crew Last 90 Days 12 Flight Crew Total 97 Flight Crew Type 97 |
| Events | |
| Anomaly | Ground Event / Encounter Object Inflight Event / Encounter Loss Of Aircraft Control |
Narrative:
Approximately .5 mile from the attended landing area (approach end of runway 01) I descended to 100 ft. AGL and leveled off preparing for final approach. Before the descent our speed was at 11mph; at 100 ft. AGL the wind had increased to 14 mph. At 0.24 mi from our intended landing point 500 ft. From the power lines we started an unexpected decent (roller/ down draft). I started burning to arrest the decent (approximately 20 second). The balloon did not start to climb until just before the power lines. One power line caught on the bottom of the basket then released as we climbed out. Climbing at a high rate I vented to slow it down and must have got caught in the down draft again and started another fast-decent into a tree. Due to the high rate of burn I lifted out of the tree were I must have been hit by wind shear (at 100 ft. The winds were at 14mph and on the ground ZZZ showing calm) knocking the air out of the envelope as we were on our final descent closing the throat of the balloon causing some fabric to get burnt in the lower gore area during final decent.
Original NASA ASRS Text
Title: A pilot reported losing control of his balloon due to gusty winds; which resulted in a brief contact with power lines.
Narrative: Approximately .5 mile from the attended landing area (approach end of runway 01) I descended to 100 ft. AGL and leveled off preparing for final approach. Before the descent our speed was at 11mph; at 100 ft. AGL the wind had increased to 14 mph. At 0.24 mi from our intended landing point 500 ft. from the power lines we started an unexpected decent (roller/ down draft). I started burning to arrest the decent (Approximately 20 second). The Balloon did not start to climb until just before the power lines. One power line caught on the bottom of the basket then released as we climbed out. Climbing at a high rate I vented to slow it down and must have got caught in the down draft again and started another fast-decent into a tree. Due to the high rate of burn I lifted out of the tree were I must have been hit by wind shear (at 100 ft. the winds were at 14mph and on the ground ZZZ showing calm) knocking the air out of the envelope as we were on our final descent closing the throat of the balloon causing some fabric to get burnt in the lower gore area during final decent.
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.