Balloon Works FIREFLY 7-B N15369
25 May 1986 · Lee's Summit, Missouri, United States · Serious injuries
Summary
On 25 May 1986 at about 23:55 local time, a Balloon Works FIREFLY 7-B registered N15369 was involved in an accident near Lee's Summit, Missouri, United States. 3 people were on board and 3 were seriously injured. The aircraft was substantially damaged. No probable cause statement is available for this record.
The record
- Date
- at 23:55
- Classification
- Accident
- Location
- Lee's Summit, Missouri, United States
- Coordinates
- 38.9096, -94.3805
- Aircraft
- Balloon Works FIREFLY 7-B
- Registration
- N15369
- Category
- Balloon
- Operator
- Not recorded
- Operating rule
- Part 91: General Aviation
- Purpose of flight
- Aerial Observation
- Phase of flight
- Not recorded
- Route
- Lee's Summit → Unknown
- Aircraft damage
- Substantial
- Weather
- VMC
- Light
- Day
- NTSB number
- MKC86FA117
People
3 people were seriously injured.
| On board | Died | Serious | Minor | Uninjured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 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
THE PIC STATED THAT PRIOR TO LIFTOFF, THE BALLOON WAS GYRATING AND INSTRUCTED THE GND CREW MEMBER TO STEADY THE BALLOON BY HOLDING THE ROPE. JUST AS THE BALLOON BECAME STEADY THE PIC INITIATED HIS TAKEOFF. THE PIC WAS AWARE OF TURBULENCE IN THE TAKEOFF SITE PRIOR TO LIFTOFF AND AGAIN DURING THE INITIAL LIFTOFF FM THE GROUND. THE BALLOON DRIFTED RAPIDLY EAST SOUTHEAST TOWARDS HIGH VOLTAGE POWERLINES. THE BALLOON ENCOUNTERED TURBULENCE IN THE FORM OF DOWNDRAFTS. THE PIC DID NOT ABORT THE TAKEOFF BUT CONTINUED FIRING THE BURNER TO TRY TO OUTCLIMB THE EFFECTS OF THE TURBULENCE. NO TEST BALLOON WAS RELEASED FM THE TAKEOFF SITE TO ASSESS WIND CONDITIONS PRIOR TO DEPARTURE.
Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.
Other Balloon Works FIREFLY accidents
| Date | Aircraft | Location | Operator | Outcome | Died |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 4 Nov 1986 | Balloon Works FIREFLY 8-24 | Brandon, Florida, United States | - | Serious injuries | - |
| 5 Jul 1986 | Balloon Works FIREFLY 7 | Hurley, New Mexico, United States | First State Bank of Dona ANA | Serious injuries | - |
| 31 Mar 1986 | Balloon Works FIREFLY 8-24 | Pheonix, Arizona, United States | - | Serious injuries | - |
| 5 Mar 1987 | Balloon Works FIREFLY 7-B | Broken Arrow, Oklahoma, United States | - | No injuries | - |
| 5 Oct 1987 | Balloon Works FIREFLY 7-B | Rio Rancho, New Mexico, United States | Janet L. Hodges | No injuries | - |
| 17 Nov 1985 | Balloon Works FIREFLY 6B | Englewood, Colorado, United States | J. Robert Pendleton | Minor injuries | - |
Other accidents in this area
| Date | Aircraft | Location | Operator | Outcome | Died |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 5 Feb 1986 | Saab-Fairchild SF340 | St. Louis, Missouri, United States | Air Midwest | No injuries | - |
| 2 Jan 1986 | Cessna 172N | Kansas City, Missouri, United States | Lawrence Flying Club Inc. | No injuries | - |
| 5 Jan 1986 | Piper PA-28-140 | Creve Ceour, Missouri, United States | Ernest L. Sturgeon | Minor injuries | - |
| 15 Jan 1986 | Piper PA-28-180 | Columbia, Missouri, United States | M. E. Tumbleson | No injuries | - |
| 18 Jan 1986 | Cessna 152 | Independence, Missouri, United States | Roger Billings | No injuries | - |
| 26 Jan 1986 | Cessna 310R | Kansas City, Missouri, United States | - | No injuries | - |