Balloon Works FIREFLY 8-24 N1509W
13 July 1983 · Hamel, Minnesota, United States · Serious injuries
Summary
On 13 July 1983 at about 13:30 local time, a Balloon Works FIREFLY 8-24 registered N1509W was involved in an accident near Hamel, Minnesota, United States. 7 people were on board and 3 were seriously injured, 4 had minor injuries. The aircraft was substantially damaged. No probable cause statement is available for this record.
The record
- Date
- at 13:30
- Classification
- Accident
- Location
- Hamel, Minnesota, United States
- Coordinates
- Not recorded
- Aircraft
- Balloon Works FIREFLY 8-24
- Registration
- N1509W
- Category
- Balloon
- Operator
- Not recorded
- Operating rule
- Part 91: General Aviation
- Purpose of flight
- Personal
- Phase of flight
- Not recorded
- Route
- Excelsior → Unknown
- Aircraft damage
- Substantial
- Weather
- VMC
- Light
- Day
- NTSB number
- CHI83LA310
People
3 people were seriously injured.
| On board | Died | Serious | Minor | Uninjured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 7 | 0 | 3 | 4 | 0 |
Probable cause
The NTSB has not published a probable cause for this record. No probable cause statement is present in the source data.
Nothing about the cause is stated here that is not in the source record.
Read the full NTSB narrative
DURING FLT, THE PLT USED FUEL FROM 2 OF 4 PROPANE TANKS, THEN SWITCHED TO THE 2ND 2 TANKS & STARTED A DESCENT. AT APRX 300 FT AGL, HE TRIED TO START THE BURNER, BUT COULD NOT GET A LIGHT BECAUSE THE PILOT LIGHT WAS OUT. HE ATTEMPTED TO MANUALLY RELIGHT THE BURNER WITH A FLINT SPARKER, BUT THE BURNER WOULD NOT RELIGHT. SUBSEQUENTLY, THE BALLOON STRUCK A METAL FENCE, BOUNCED & HIT A TRACTOR. FIVE OF THE PASSENGERS FELL OUT. THE PLT & ONE OTHER PASSENGER WERE CARRIED ANOTHER 200 YARDS INTO A SWAMPY AREA. AN EXAM OF THE FUEL SYS SHOWED THAT THE PILOT LIGHT VALVE WAS A TOGGLE TYPE SWITCH NEAR THE 'FIRE 2' VALVE. THE PLT REPORTED THAT HE COULD HAVE INADVERTENTLY STRUCK & SHUT OFF THE PILOT LIGHT VALVE AS HE ROTATED THE 'FIRE 2' VALVE. WHEN CHECKED, THE PILOT LIGHT & BURNER OPERATED NORMALLY. THE 'FIRE 2' WOULD ONLY LIGHT WITH THE FLINT SPARKER WHEN THE VALVE WAS ONLY SLIGHTLY OPENED.
Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.
Other Balloon Works FIREFLY accidents
| Date | Aircraft | Location | Operator | Outcome | Died |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 9 Oct 1983 | Balloon Works FIREFLY 7 | Dorr, Michigan, United States | - | Serious injuries | - |
| 19 Jun 1983 | Balloon Works FIREFLY 7 | Flint, Michigan, United States | - | Fatal | 1 |
| 2 Jan 1983 | Balloon Works FIREFLY 7B | Indianola, Iowa, United States | Denise Bowles | Serious injuries | - |
| 30 May 1983 | Balloon Works FIREFLY 7 | Farmington, New Mexico, United States | - | No injuries | - |
| 30 May 1983 | Balloon Works FIREFLY 7 | Del Norte, Colorado, United States | - | Serious injuries | - |
| 12 Mar 1983 | Balloon Works FIREFLY AX-7 | Augusta, Michigan, United States | - | No injuries | - |
Other accidents in this area
| Date | Aircraft | Location | Operator | Outcome | Died |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 28 May 1983 | Cessna 172 | Bemidji, Minnesota, United States | - | No injuries | - |
| 4 Jun 1983 | Piper PA-28-140 | Big Lake, Minnesota, United States | - | No injuries | - |
| 6 Jun 1983 | Cessna 206A | St. Cloud, Minnesota, United States | - | No injuries | - |
| 6 Jun 1983 | Piper PA-25 | Roseau, Minnesota, United States | - | Minor injuries | - |
| 12 Jun 1983 | Piper PA-12 | Blackduck, Minnesota, United States | - | No injuries | - |
| 13 Jun 1983 | Grumman G-164A | Crookston, Minnesota, United States | - | No injuries | - |