<< >> NASA ASRS Report 345607, August 1996

The envelope of a firefly 7 hot air balloon got tangled with some light poles after landing in a parking lot.

Attributes
ACN	345607
Time
Date	199608
Day	Sat
Local Time Of Day	1801 To 2400
Place
Locale Reference	airport : 72tx
State Reference	TX
Altitude	agl bound lower : 0 agl bound upper : 0
Environment
Flight Conditions	VMC
Light	Daylight
Aircraft 1
Operator	general aviation : personal
Make Model Name	Balloon
Operating Under FAR Part	Part 91
Flight Phase	landing other
Flight Plan	None
Person 1
Affiliation	Other
Function	flight crew : single pilot
Qualification	pilot : private
Experience	flight time last 90 days : 17 flight time total : 165 flight time type : 165
ASRS Report	345607
Events
Anomaly	conflict : ground less severe other anomaly other
Independent Detector	other flight crewa
Resolutory Action	none taken : detected after the fact
Consequence	other
Supplementary
Primary Problem	Flight Crew Human Performance
Air Traffic Incident	other

Narrative:

The final pilot briefing on aug/sat/96, reported winds out of 180 degrees becoming light and variable. I decided to fly a short distance. Winds were gentle at the XA13 pm takeoff. I prepared to land after passing the target field (the north side of rocket park at johnson space center). I found several parking lots in the direction of flight on 2ND avenue. No power lines were in the immediate landing area. I watched a balloon land just ahead of me. It went straight into the parking lot and landed upright. I proceeded to follow the balloon into the same parking lot. My basket came to a stop to the left of two light poles that lined the parking lot. The winds were variable and a gust of wind caused the envelope to contact the light pole. In trying to recover the envelope, a load tape became entangled on a portion at the light pole. The light pole was not damaged. The envelope suffered minor damages.

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Original NASA ASRS Text

Title: THE ENVELOPE OF A FIREFLY 7 HOT AIR BALLOON GOT TANGLED WITH SOME LIGHT POLES AFTER LNDG IN A PARKING LOT.

Narrative: THE FINAL PLT BRIEFING ON AUG/SAT/96, RPTED WINDS OUT OF 180 DEGS BECOMING LIGHT AND VARIABLE. I DECIDED TO FLY A SHORT DISTANCE. WINDS WERE GENTLE AT THE XA13 PM TKOF. I PREPARED TO LAND AFTER PASSING THE TARGET FIELD (THE N SIDE OF ROCKET PARK AT JOHNSON SPACE CTR). I FOUND SEVERAL PARKING LOTS IN THE DIRECTION OF FLT ON 2ND AVENUE. NO PWR LINES WERE IN THE IMMEDIATE LNDG AREA. I WATCHED A BALLOON LAND JUST AHEAD OF ME. IT WENT STRAIGHT INTO THE PARKING LOT AND LANDED UPRIGHT. I PROCEEDED TO FOLLOW THE BALLOON INTO THE SAME PARKING LOT. MY BASKET CAME TO A STOP TO THE L OF TWO LIGHT POLES THAT LINED THE PARKING LOT. THE WINDS WERE VARIABLE AND A GUST OF WIND CAUSED THE ENVELOPE TO CONTACT THE LIGHT POLE. IN TRYING TO RECOVER THE ENVELOPE, A LOAD TAPE BECAME ENTANGLED ON A PORTION AT THE LIGHT POLE. THE LIGHT POLE WAS NOT DAMAGED. THE ENVELOPE SUFFERED MINOR DAMAGES.

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.