What happened
A hot air balloon, a Schroeder Fire Balloons G 34/24, departed from Landgraaf, the Netherlands, carrying a pilot and three passengers. The flight, intended for a landing in Gronsveld, Netherlands, encountered challenging conditions early on due to wind gusts. As the flight progressed, the pilot struggled to find a suitable landing site due to obstacles such as agricultural crops and cement quarries, eventually crossing into Belgian airspace.
During the flight, the balloon encountered high and medium-voltage power lines, prompting the pilot to brief the passengers on safety positions. The flight path also resulted in an airspace infringement of the EBLG control zone, though air traffic was not impacted. The flight concluded with a hard landing in a field near Xhendremael, Belgium. The impact caused the basket to tip and the passengers to fall into one another, resulting in one passenger seriously injured with a complex ankle fracture. The aircraft sustained no damage.
The investigation
The AAIU(Be) investigation utilized radar data, witness accounts from the pilot and passengers, and video footage from bystanders to reconstruct the flight. The inquiry examined the meteorological conditions, noting that while forecasts were available, the pilot's use of the most recent weather updates was insufficient. The investigation also looked into the regulatory context of the flight, noting that while the passengers were sharing costs, the pilot's previous flying activities had been under scrutiny by the Dutch Civil Aviation Authority.
Findings
- The fast and hard landing was directly caused by a ground wind of 13 knots.
- The pilot did not utilize all the most recent meteorological information available to plan the flight and decide on the continuation of the mission.
- The decision to fly into an unfamiliar area increased the difficulty of finding a safe landing site and led to the airspace infringement.
- Landing at groundspeeds exceeding 10 knots presents a significant risk to passengers with limited experience in ballooning.
Safety action
The AAIU(Be) issued a safety message to all hot air balloon pilots, emphasizing the importance of consulting the most current meteorological information, such as ATIS, SYNOPs, and METARs, rather than relying solely on earlier forecasts. The agency recommends contacting aviation meteorological services directly via telephone for briefings whenever there is any uncertainty regarding wind conditions.