Hunter Valley balloon crash pilot ‘disorientated’ by clouds, report finds
THE pilot of a hot-air balloon that crashed in NSW’s Hunter Valley, injuring 16 people, couldn’t see the ground and had to rely on an iPad map to guide his landing, a preliminary investigation has found.
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THE pilot of a hot-air balloon that crashed in NSW’s Hunter Valley, injuring 16 people, couldn’t see the ground and had to rely on an iPad map to guide his landing, a preliminary investigation has found.
The Balloon Aloft flight, and two others operated by the same parent company, was aborted about 10 to 15 minutes after takeoff on March 30 as conditions worsened, the Australian Transport Safety Bureau said in a report released today.
As the balloon descended, it entered thick low-level cloud.
“The pilot was unable to see the ground and used the map on his iPad to locate his planned landing site,” the report said.
He was aiming for a clearing about 100m ahead, across a road bordered by trees, but at that stage his visibility was only about 5m.
“He found the motion of the cloud very disorientating.”
Passengers called out a warning to the pilot of the road and bush, but it was too late and the balloon hit the trees.
The collision caused “several large tears” and forced the basket to rotate 180 degrees, before landing heavily.
Sixteen passengers were injured in the landing, three of them seriously, the ATSB said.
Three were taken to Cessnock Hospital by a crew member on the ground, and two of those were later transferred to John Hunter Hospital with spinal damage.
The other two balloons landed a short time later without incident.
NSW Police at the time questioned why the operator didn’t call emergency services and quickly packed up the balloon after it crashed.
The ATSB is also investigating a hard landing involving the same operators — the International Balloon Flight Company — in January.
“The ATSB is assessing the similarities between the accidents and reviewing the effectiveness of actions taken in response to the January occurrence,” it said.
The pilot held a commercial pilot licence and a valid medical certificate, having accrued 3120 flying hours, 25 of them on the same balloon type.
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