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Air carrier pilot reported a near midair collision with a hot air balloon on departure at night at a foreign airport.
| Attributes | |
| ACN | 1761373 |
| Time | |
| Date | 202009 |
| Local Time Of Day | 1801-2400 |
| Place | |
| Locale Reference | SBGR.Airport |
| State Reference | FO |
| Environment | |
| Flight Conditions | VMC |
| Light | Night |
| Aircraft 1 | |
| Make Model Name | Commercial Fixed Wing |
| Operating Under FAR Part | Part 121 |
| Flight Phase | Takeoff |
| Route In Use | SID BC01A |
| Flight Plan | IFR |
| Aircraft 2 | |
| Make Model Name | Balloon |
| Flight Phase | Cruise |
| Person 1 | |
| Function | Pilot Not Flying First Officer |
| Qualification | Flight Crew Air Transport Pilot (ATP) |
| Experience | Flight Crew Last 90 Days 148 Flight Crew Total 6643 Flight Crew Type 5173 |
| Events | |
| Anomaly | Conflict NMAC Inflight Event / Encounter Other / Unknown |
Narrative:
An airborne object passed within 100 yards of my aircraft on departure. No evasive maneuvering as it passed the same time we saw it off the right side of the aircraft. It was a balloon or something lit by some sort of incendiary device obviously designed to float the object to high altitude. It was large; in excess of 100 feet tall. I gave a PIREP to ATC departure. They didn't care or lost in translation. Hot air balloons are prevalent on morning arrival into this airport. We see them every other flight. They are typically large and with some sort of picture or photo attached visible to the naked eye. However; this was the closest encounter I've had with one that I knew about and it was on the night departure. Just recommend an advisory to pilots that hot air balloons are a constant threat in the terminal area. They are sometimes on ATIS; notams; but maybe an operations bulletin might be more of a mitigating warning for new pilots.
Original NASA ASRS Text
Title: Air Carrier pilot reported a NMAC with a hot air balloon on departure at night at a foreign airport.
Narrative: An airborne object passed within 100 yards of my aircraft on departure. No evasive maneuvering as it passed the same time we saw it off the right side of the aircraft. It was a balloon or something lit by some sort of incendiary device obviously designed to float the object to high altitude. It was large; in excess of 100 feet tall. I gave a PIREP to ATC Departure. They didn't care or lost in translation. Hot air balloons are prevalent on morning arrival into this airport. We see them every other flight. They are typically large and with some sort of picture or photo attached visible to the naked eye. However; this was the closest encounter I've had with one that I knew about and it was on the night departure. Just recommend an advisory to pilots that hot air balloons are a constant threat in the terminal area. They are sometimes on ATIS; NOTAMs; but maybe an operations bulletin might be more of a mitigating warning for new pilots.
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.