Balony Kubicek Spol Sro BB70Z N245DK

Summary

On 22 April 2017 at about 14:40 local time, a Balony Kubicek Spol Sro BB70Z registered N245DK was involved in an accident near Park City, Utah, United States. 9 people were on board and nobody was injured. The aircraft was substantially damaged. The NTSB has published a probable cause for this accident; it is quoted in full below.

Date

22 April 2017 at 14:40

Classification

Accident

Location

Park City, Utah, United States

Coordinates

40.7522, -111.5669

Aircraft

Balony Kubicek Spol Sro BB70Z

Registration

N245DK

Category

Balloon

Year built

2011

Operator

Not recorded

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Business

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Unknown → Park City

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

GAA17CA262

Nobody was injured.

The pilot’s failure to see and avoid power lines during landing.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record. This site does not paraphrase or interpret it.

Read the full NTSB narrative

The pilot reported that the wind shifted before departure and that, although this would result in the balloon travelling to an area with "limited landing opportunities," he chose to continue the departure. During landing, the balloon descended to about 20 to 30 ft above the ground, and the landing area was on a hillside that had a commercial building on the top and that, at the base of the hill, was a short pole with guy wires. He did not see any other poles, so he "focused" on the intended landing site. As the balloon approached the landing site, a passenger asked, "if we would hit that power line?" He looked up and saw two power lines above and forward of the balloon's path, and he immediately vented the balloon to land and stop its forward progress. The balloon collided with the power lines and settled to the ground. The balloon sustained substantial damage to 3 of its 24 cables that attach the envelope to the basket. The pilot reported that there were no preaccident mechanical failures or malfunctions with the balloon that would have precluded normal operation.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.