A KING AIR PVT PLT RPTS ENCOUNTERING A CLUSTER OF BLUE AND WHITE BALLOONS WITH AN ATTACHMENT SHORTLY AFTER TKOF FROM RWY 18 AT MEIGS FIELD; CGX; IL.

Narrative

VFR DEP ON AN IFR FLT PLAN FROM CGX. AFTER TKOF; ON CLBOUT AT APPROX 1500 FT MSL; I LOOKED INSIDE FOR A MOMENT (1 SECOND). I FORGET WHY; TO GO TO DEP FREQ MAYBE. UPON LOOKING BACK OUTSIDE; I SAW A CLUSTER OF MULTICOLORED BALLOONS GO BY; WITH A SMALL BLACK OBJECT SLUNG UNDERNEATH; JUST ABOVE MY ALT AND SLIGHTLY TO THE R. IT WAS CLOSE ENOUGH THAT I WAS GLAD THAT I WAS IN A CLB BECAUSE THE TAIL WAS LOW AND MISSED THE OBJECT. AS I REMEMBER; THE BALLOONS WERE WHITE AND BLUE. THE BLUE BALLOONS WERE ON TOP OF THE CLUSTER; THE WHITE WERE BENEATH. THERE WERE PROBABLY 10 STANDARD PARTY BALLOONS IN THIS CLUSTER. THE OBJECT WAS BLACK; RECTANGULAR; AND MAYBE 6' X 6' X 4' IN SIZE. AS I SAID; IT WENT BY PRETTY CLOSE; SO I GOT A PRETTY GOOD LOOK AT IT. I ADVISED THE CONTROLLER THAT I HAD PASSED 'A BALLOON' AND RECIEVED A 'ROGER.' I WAS THEN HANDED OFF TO ANOTHER CONTROLLER. FEELING THAT MAYBE MY INCIDENT DESCRIPTION DIDN'T FULLY EXPLAIN THE DANGER; I INFORMED MY NEW CONTROLLER THAT I HAD PASSED A CLUSTER OF BALLOONS WITH SOMETHING SLUNG UNDERNEATH WHICH COULD BE ANYTHING; AT LEAST SOMETHING TO BE INGESTED BY AN ENGINE AND POTENTIALLY CAUSE MAJOR DAMAGE. WHILE I CERTAINLY CAN'T FAIRLY ASSUME THAT CHICAGO CENTER DIDN'T HEED MY WARNING; ON THE BUSY FREQUENCY I DIDN'T GET ANY FEEDBACK THAT ANYTHING WAS DONE ABOUT IT. I WAS KEPT AT 10;000 FT FOR QUITE SOME TIME (NO COMPLAINTS; IT'S NORMAL) AND THE FREQUENCY WASN'T VERY BUSY; SO IF THEY HAD WANTED ANY ADDITIONAL INFORMATION (E.G.; COLOR; SIZE; ETC.); THERE WAS CERTAINLY TIME TO INQUIRE. WITH ALL THE HOOPLA OVER INCREASED SECURITY; I WAS SURPRISED THAT NOTHING MORE WAS MADE OF SOME UFO NEAR CHICAGO; OVER LAKE MICHIGAN.