1995-10 · NASA ASRS report 321513
LOW ALT CIVIL OP BY A HOT AIR BALLOON DURING A 'DAWN PATROL.'
I WAS THE PIC; WITH 2 UNPAID PAX; ABOARD A COMMERCIALLY SPONSORED HOT AIR BALLOON FLYING THE PRE-DAWN; 'DAWN PATROL' AT A SPECIAL EVENT. MY CURRENCY FOR NIGHT FLT WITH PAX SELDOM LAPSES; AS I FREQUENTLY OPERATE PRE-DAWN. THE ACFT WAS ON ITS 4TH FLT; JUST DELIVERED NEW FROM ENGLAND. I HAD ATTAINED MY RECENCY ON THIS PARTICULAR ACFT 3 DAYS BEFORE; AND HAD EVEN FLOWN PRE-DAWN THE PREVIOUS DAY. FLYING FROM THE SPECIAL EVENT PARK AT THIS HR IS A DELIGHT FOR THE FLC/PAX AND SPECTATORS. THIS SPECIAL INTEREST LISTS 'DAWN PATROL' AS A SCHEDULED EVENT. WAS A LOW ALT WAIVER IN EFFECT FOR DAWN PATROL? EVEN THOSE CHARGED WITH BRIEFING AND SAFETY FOR THE EVENT WERE VAGUE AT BEST. AFTER LIFT-OFF; I BEGAN CRUISING AT 50 FT OR LESS OVER MY LAUNCH AREA AND THE PARKING AREA SURROUNDING THE PARK. WITHIN 15 MINS; OUR DRIFT PLACED THE ACFT WITHIN 1500 VERT FT OF POWER LINES TO THE E SIDE OF THE FIELD. AT A LOWER ALT I FOUND A SLIGHT BREEZE TO PUSH US AWAY FROM THE LINES; TO THE W. I RODE THIS FOR A FEW MINS. FLYING AT ABOUT 30 FT ABOVE THE PARKING AREA ON THE N END OF THE FIELD; I ADVISED MY PAX WE MAY ATTEMPT A LNDG IN AN OPEN AREA WHERE CARS HAD NOT YET OCCUPIED. UPON APCH; THE MAN FLAGGING CARS IN SAID HE PREFERRED I NOT LAND THERE. FROM THAT POINT; I CLRLY SHOULD HAVE ASCENDED TO A MINIMUM SAFE ALT AND WAITED FOR ANOTHER LNDG SPOT. INSTEAD; I THOUGHT IT POSSIBLE TO KEEP RIDING THE BREEZE; ALBEIT VERY SLOW; TO THE W; POSITIONING MYSELF FOR AN ON-FIELD LNDG ON THE PARK. CRUISING OVER THE CONCESSION AREA AWAY FROM SPECTATORS AND VEHICLES TO ATTEMPT A LNDG. IN THE MIDST OF THIS NAVING; I WAS USING A TURNING VENT TO KEEP MYSELF ORIENTED FOR THE BEST HORIZ VISIBILITY FOR AN APCH. AT THE SAME TIME AS I HAD MY TURNING VENT IN MY R HAND; I HAD THE RED (VENT) LINE IN MY HAND. I LOST CONCENTRATION AND FAILED TO RELEASE THE VENT LINE; CAUSING A FINAL; EXCEPTIONALLY LOW SWOOP OVER THE AREA. AT THAT MOMENT; I KNEW I WOULD BE VIEWED AS PURELY 'SHOWBOATING' AND EXPECTED TO BE CALLED TO THE SAFETY TWR THE NEXT DAY. I WAS; NOT ONLY BY THE SAFETY OFFICIAL; BUT BY THE CHIEF OF THE FSDO FOR ABQ. I AGREED TO COOPERATE IN THE INVESTIGATION AND WILL DO SO. I WAS HUNTING FOR A PLACE TO LAND AND IN THE PROCESS DID WHAT I AND OTHERS HAVE DONE IN THE PAST; FLOWN VERY LOW OVER THE PARK. WHAT WAS ONCE CONSIDERED CUSTOMARY AND ACCEPTABLE; CLRLY IS NO LONGER. I WILL FOLLOW THE RULES; AND MY OP FOR THE REST OF THE WEEK REFLECTED THAT. ADDITIONALLY; I BEGAN PREACHING THE GOSPEL OF THE FAA ON MINIMUM; SAFE ALTS TO THE REST OF THE EVENT FLYERS. I SUSPECT THAT WAS LARGELY THE POINT OF THE SAFETY OFFICERS AND THE NEW FAA CHIEF IN THE FIRST PLACE. IF SO; I UNDERSTAND. THERE ARE TOO MANY PEOPLE FOLLOWING MY LEAD ON 'DAWN PATROL' FOR ME TO BE SETTING A POOR EXAMPLE; OR ONE THAT IS JUDGED AS EVEN QUESTIONABLE.
Source: NASA Aviation Safety Reporting System (public domain). Reports are voluntary submissions and are not verified by NASA.
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