What happened
On September 15, 2016, at approximately 18:10 LMT, three pilots reported the presence of a crewed hot air balloon within the northern portion of the EPMO CTR. The airport duty officer and the EPMO Tower controller also confirmed the balloon's presence in the controlled airspace, which lasted until 18:36 LMT. The balloon, a Lindstrand LBL 105A with registration SP-BEZ, had taken off from Cieksyn, located roughly 13.5 km north of EPMO, at 18:05 LMT.
Upon reaching an altitude of approximately 100 m AGL, the balloon traveled on a heading of 310–320 degrees at a speed of about 14 km/h. The flight concluded with a landing approximately 4.5 km from the takeoff site at 18:48 LMT. During the flight, the pilot did not maintain radio communication with air traffic services and had not filed a flight plan.
The investigation
The investigation established that the pilot intended to maximize flight time before sunset and was in a hurry to depart. The pilot believed the takeoff location in Cieksyn was outside the EPMO CTR and operated under the assumption that the flight was taking place in Class G airspace outside of a Radio Mandatory Zone (RMZ). Consequently, the pilot did not verify the takeoff coordinates against the controlled airspace boundaries or establish contact with air traffic control.
Findings
- The primary cause of the incident was the failure to verify the takeoff location relative to the airport's controlled airspace.
- The pilot's haste to begin the flight led to an oversight regarding the actual boundaries of the EPMO CTR.
- The lack of radio communication and flight plan filing was due to the pilot's incorrect belief that the flight was occurring in uncontrolled airspace.