What happened
On June 19, 2010, a Cameron A-315 hot air balloon, operated by Flying Circus, S.L. with registration EC-JRD, was conducting a commercial tourist flight near Segovia, Spain. The flight departed from the Altos de la Piedad area carrying the pilot and 15 passengers.
During the flight, the pilot encountered a thick fog bank at 1,000 feet, which significantly reduced visibility. In an attempt to find clearer conditions, the pilot ascended to 1,500 feet. After forty minutes of flight without any improvement in visibility, the pilot decided to descend for landing.
As the balloon approached the ground near the N-110 highway in the municipality of Perogordo, the pilot attempted to rotate the basket to ensure contact would occur on its longest side, a standard procedure for stability. However, due to the low visibility, the maneuver was incomplete, and the basket struck the ground on its short side. The basket rested on its lateral wall before eventually overturning completely during the evacuation process. The incident resulted in one serious injury and one minor injury among the passengers; the aircraft sustained no damage.
The investigation
The CIAIAC investigation focused on the meteorological conditions and the pilot's execution of the landing maneuver. Investigators noted that the weather forecast for the area indicated surface visibility of only 100 meters and significant fog. While the operator's manual prohibits initiating flights unless visual flight rules (VFR) can be maintained, the pilot proceeded with the flight despite the known poor conditions.
Investigators also examined the pilot's experience, noting that while the pilot had 1,200 total flight hours, they had only 10 hours of experience specifically in the Cameron A-315 model. The investigation looked into whether the pressure to complete the scheduled tourist flight influenced the decision to fly in sub-optimal weather.
Findings
- The primary cause of the accident was the lack of visibility, which prevented the pilot from accurately calculating the distance to the ground and completing the necessary rotation of the basket.
- The unstable orientation of the basket upon initial contact caused it to overturn during the evacuation.
- The pilot's limited experience in this specific aircraft type may have contributed to the difficulty in executing the landing maneuver under challenging conditions.
- The decision to proceed with the flight despite forecasts indicating low visibility and fog was a contributing factor.