Incident Summary
On 17 May 2024, a commercial visual flight rules (VFR) flight was planned with a hot air balloon from Mantorp Park to St. Ölstorp, carrying 12 passengers and one pilot. The pilot obtained a weather forecast from SMHI earlier in the day and decided to proceed to the launch site after assessing conditions. After releasing a helium balloon at 18:30 local time, the pilot noted relatively high wind speed with strong gusts and delayed the launch. A second balloon release indicated decreasing wind speed and gustiness, matching the forecast trend, leading to a launch decision.
Flight and Landing Attempts
The balloon departed at 20:08 and climbed in a northwesterly direction. At an altitude of approximately 350 feet above ground, the pilot perceived wind speed higher than expected. After about ten minutes of flight, he decided to descend and made two landing attempts. During the second attempt, the pilot felt the balloon being pushed down by the wind. The contact with the ground was hard, causing the basket to momentarily tip forward.
Aircraft and Crew
The balloon was a Cameron A-275, registration SE-ZIX. The pilot held the required qualifications. The operator's manuals and relevant procedures were reviewed during the investigation. The basket was of a divided type, and the flight manual recommended that passengers adopt a backward-facing landing position to mitigate injury risk, but the operations manual did not specify passenger positioning before landing.
Investigation Findings
The Swedish Accident Investigation Authority (SHK) conducted the investigation. Meteorological analysis showed that wind conditions at the time were within the aircraft's operational limits. No technical anomalies were found with the balloon. The investigation focused on operational decisions and passenger protection methods. The report noted that a study by the UK Civil Aviation Authority identified hard landings with forward tipping as the highest risk of injury to passengers. No information was available on passenger injuries or other damage beyond the basket tipping.