A commercial hot air balloon pilot, flying a lindstrand AX11-210, made a low level civil flight. Err...

Attributes
ACN	348910
Time
Date	199609
Day	Sat
Local Time Of Day	1201 To 1800
Place
Locale Reference	airport : san
State Reference	CA
Altitude	agl bound lower : 500 agl bound upper : 500
Environment
Flight Conditions	IMC
Light	Daylight
Aircraft 1
Operator	general aviation : corporate
Make Model Name	Balloon
Operating Under FAR Part	Part 91
Flight Phase	climbout : takeoff cruise other landing other
Flight Plan	None
Aircraft 2
Make Model Name	Fokker 100
Operating Under FAR Part	Part 121
Person 1
Affiliation	Other
Function	flight crew : single pilot
Qualification	pilot : commercial
Experience	flight time last 90 days : 50 flight time total : 1600 flight time type : 500
ASRS Report	348910
Events
Anomaly	inflight encounter : vfr in imc non adherence : far other anomaly other
Independent Detector	other flight crewa
Resolutory Action	none taken : anomaly accepted
Consequence	Other
Supplementary
Primary Problem	Flight Crew Human Performance
Air Traffic Incident	Pilot Deviation

Narrative:

I was performing a hot-air balloon commercial flight, north of san diego (approximately 30 mi). The visibility was very poor, due to thick haze, and a marine layer of clouds was forming over the coast (about 1/2 mi west of my position). The marine layer was advancing quickly, and as I took off, the layer was forming over me at about 800 ft. I was flying over a congested area, which required 1000 ft of clearance. I did not give that required clearance, because I did not want to enter the clouds. Though I was in uncontrolled airspace, I should have given the congested area below the clearance, which would put me in controled airspace and have me break VFR minimum distances to the clouds. Additionally, the visibility conditions were extremely marginal. An FAA examiner could easily interpret them as IFR, as cloud base was below 1000 ft, and visibility was approximately 1 mi. Looking back, I could have corrected the action by either canceling the flight, or planning the flight over uncongested areas, to stay within uncontrolled airspace.

Original NASA ASRS Text

Title: A COMMERCIAL HOT AIR BALLOON PLT, FLYING A LINDSTRAND AX11-210, MADE A LOW LEVEL CIVIL FLT. ERROR ADMITTED. FAR VIOLATION VFR IN IMC, LOW FLT.

Narrative: I WAS PERFORMING A HOT-AIR BALLOON COMMERCIAL FLT, N OF SAN DIEGO (APPROX 30 MI). THE VISIBILITY WAS VERY POOR, DUE TO THICK HAZE, AND A MARINE LAYER OF CLOUDS WAS FORMING OVER THE COAST (ABOUT 1/2 MI W OF MY POS). THE MARINE LAYER WAS ADVANCING QUICKLY, AND AS I TOOK OFF, THE LAYER WAS FORMING OVER ME AT ABOUT 800 FT. I WAS FLYING OVER A CONGESTED AREA, WHICH REQUIRED 1000 FT OF CLRNC. I DID NOT GIVE THAT REQUIRED CLRNC, BECAUSE I DID NOT WANT TO ENTER THE CLOUDS. THOUGH I WAS IN UNCTLED AIRSPACE, I SHOULD HAVE GIVEN THE CONGESTED AREA BELOW THE CLRNC, WHICH WOULD PUT ME IN CTLED AIRSPACE AND HAVE ME BREAK VFR MINIMUM DISTANCES TO THE CLOUDS. ADDITIONALLY, THE VISIBILITY CONDITIONS WERE EXTREMELY MARGINAL. AN FAA EXAMINER COULD EASILY INTERPRET THEM AS IFR, AS CLOUD BASE WAS BELOW 1000 FT, AND VISIBILITY WAS APPROX 1 MI. LOOKING BACK, I COULD HAVE CORRECTED THE ACTION BY EITHER CANCELING THE FLT, OR PLANNING THE FLT OVER UNCONGESTED AREAS, TO STAY WITHIN UNCTLED AIRSPACE.

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.

A commercial hot air balloon pilot, flying a lindstrand AX11-210, made a low level civil flight. Error admitted. Far violation VFR in IMC, low flight.