ALLEGED BY POLICE OFFICER THAT BALLOONIST FLEW TOO LOW OVER POPULATED AREA FOR HIS LNDG.

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DURING LNDG APCH I FELT IT NECESSARY TO DSND AT A GRADUAL RATE OF DSCNT. THE WIND AT THE GND LEVEL AND UP TO ABOUT 100 FT WAS APPROX 8 KTS. IN A WINDY LNDG SITUATION I WAS TAUGHT TO MAKE GRADUAL APCH AND NOT TOUCH THE GND WITH A SHARP ANGLE OF APCH. THIS WILL KEEP THE BALLOON FROM BOUNCING BACK INTO THE AIR AND POSSIBLY FLYING PAST THE LNDG SITE. I HAD MADE 1 APCH TO LNDG NEAR 19TH AVENUE AND DEER VALLEY ROAD. MY APCH WAS OVER OPEN LAND AND INDUSTRIAL BUILDINGS. THE SUITABLE LNDG SITE I CHOSE WAS NOT ACCESSIBLE DUE TO A CHANGE IN WIND DIRECTION AND SPD CLOSE TO THE GND. I ABORTED THIS LNDG AND CLBED TO ABOUT 750 FT AGL TO SPOT AND MANEUVER TO A SECOND LNDG AREA. I CHOSE A FIELD ABOUT 3 MI S. WHEN IT WAS NECESSARY TO START MY APCH I DID SO ABOUT 1 MI FROM MY SELECTED LNDG SITE. THE FLT PATH NEEDED TO LAND AT THIS LOCATION CARRIED ME OVER A RESIDENTIAL AREA. I NEEDED TO FLY BEYOND A ROW OF BUILDINGS AND LAND IN A LARGE FIELD THAT WOULD BE CONDUCIVE TO A WINDY TO SEMI WINDY LNDG ALLOWING THE BALLOON TO DRAG UNTIL THE AIR WAS VENTED FROM THE BALLOON. MY APCH WAS SMOOTH AND WITHOUT INCIDENT. MY LNDG WAS NOT AS WINDY AS IT WOULD HAVE BEEN AT THE FIRST ATTEMPT. ABOUT 1/4 TO 1/2 MI FROM FINAL TOUCHDOWN I WOULD ESTIMATE MY ALT AT ABOUT 200 FT AGL. I WAS GREETED ON LNDG BY A PHOENIX POLICE OFFICER WHO THOUGHT I MAY HAVE BEEN IN DANGER. WHEN I EXPLAINED MY LNDG APCH TO HIM; HE QUESTIONED WHETHER I WAS BELOW MIN ALT. WHEN NAVIGATING A BALLOON; A PLT HAS TO USE THE DIFFERENT ALTS AND WIND CURRENTS TO STEER. SOMETIMES IT IS NECESSARY TO ABORT A LNDG WHEN IT IS FELT BY THE PLT HE DOES NOT HAVE A GOOD APCH DIRECTION OR LNDG SPD DUE TO HIGHER WINDS. I FEEL A BALLOON PLT SHOULD BE ALLOWED TO MAKE HIS APCH AS IS NECESSARY FOR A SAFE LNDG. LOWERING THE REQUIRED MINS FOR BALLOON FLT WOULD HELP.