A HOT AIR BALLOON HIT PWR LINES AFTER TKOF.

Narrative

LAUNCHED HOT AIR BALLOON; WINDS 5 KTS; TEMP 35 DEGS F. ON CLBOUT OF LAUNCH FIELD; PLT TURNED TO ADJUST RADIO; TURNED TO FACE DIRECTION OF TRAVEL; REALIZED RATE OF CLB MIGHT NOT BE SUFFICIENT TO CLR PWR LINES. PLT VENTED HOT AIR FROM BALLOON; LANDED 20 FT SHORT OF PWR LINES. MOMENTUM OF ENVELOPE CONTINUED AFTER BASKET TOUCHED DOWN; CARRYING ENVELOPE ONLY INTO CONTACT WITH PWR LINES. THERE WERE NO INJURIES; PWR WAS NOT INTERRUPTED; THERE WAS DAMAGE TO 1 PANEL OF BALLOON FABRIC. FACTORS CONTRIBUTING: 1) PLT INATTN. 2) LOW FUEL SYS PRESSURE CAUSED BY LOW AMBIENT TEMP. SUGGESTIONS TO PREVENT A RECURRENCE: 1) PLT MUST ALWAYS BE AWARE OF FLT ATTITUDE OF ACFT. 2) SPECIAL CARE SHOULD BE TAKEN WHEN FLYING A PROPANE PWRED HOT AIR BALLOON WHEN TEMPS ARE LOW ENOUGH TO CAUSE A LOWER THAN NORMAL FUEL SYS PRESSURE. 3) DURING TRAINING; I WAS TAUGHT THE PHRASE 'WHEN IN DOUBT; RIP IT OUT' IN RELATION TO REACTING TO A POSSIBLE PWR LINE STRIKE. I FIRMLY BELIEVE THAT THIS PHRASE; WHICH SPEEDED MY REACTION TIME; SAVED MYSELF AND THE ACFT FROM A MORE DANGEROUS ENDING TO THIS INCIDENT. CALLBACK CONVERSATION WITH RPTR REVEALED THE FOLLOWING INFO: THE RPTR WAS FLYING A FIREFLY 7B HOT AIR BALLOON FROM COLUMBIA COLLEGE; ROUGHLY 5 MI N OF OSAGE BEACH ARPT; K15. THE RPTR HAS A PVT CERTIFICATE. THE FABRIC DAMAGE WAS MINOR; CAUSED BY ARCING OF THE PWR LINES. THE RPTR HAS NOT HEARD FROM THE FAA ON THIS INCIDENT. HE PROMISES TO PAY MORE ATTN TO HIS AEROSTAT AFTER LIFTOFF.