A HOT air balloon incident in January, 2018 that left four people injured after the balloon encountered severe turbulence near Greta was avoidable, an investigation has found.
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The Bureau of Meteorology “clearly identified” the presence of weather “hazardous to balloon operations”, said the Australian Transport Safety Bureau after four hot air balloons were forced to land on a grassy field on January 13, 2018 because of conditions.
A balloon with 15 passengers and a pilot landed upright on the ground at nearly 40 kilometres per hour before the balloon basket fell on its side and was dragged across the field by the balloon “acting as a sail in the wind”.
The basket collided with a bush and was “lifted rapidly on its right side and landed back down heavily”, the investigation found.
“It was then dragged a further 50-60 metres before coming to rest.”
Significant ground impact forces left one passenger seriously injured and another three with minor injuries. All four passengers were taken to hospital, with three discharged later that day.
International Balloon Flight Company pilots and an operator told the ATSB they checked weather conditions on January 12, and again at 3.30am on January 13 only two hours before the balloons were due to depart from a site north of Cessnock for a sunrise flight of about 20 kilometres. The balloons were supposed to land at a site near Rothbury.
The balloon company said weather predictions showed light surface winds at sunrise, with a sharp increase in surface wind speed from 11am, but the balloon with 15 passengers encountered changed and stronger wind conditions at 6am when the balloon was at 2500 feet.
The four balloon pilots elected to land in an available grassy field after the wind change meant the Rothbury landing point was no longer possible.
The ATSB contradicted the balloon company’s weather reports and said Bureau of Meteorology advice at 2am and 5am was for increasing wind speeds at altitude.
“A review of the forecast weather conditions… would have identified the likelihood of the flight encountering strong winds and severe turbulence,” the ATSB found.
“In that context, the ATSB considers that the exposure of the pilots and passengers to hazardous weather conditions during the flight, and the injuries sustained during the landing, were avoidable.”
The ATSB found the balloon landed “with a significant forward velocity” because of conditions and when it hit the bush it was forced upwards with “considerable force”.
The balloon company agreed to further weather checks and noted that pressure dropping to a certain point “is an indication of changing weather conditions and should be taken into strong consideration when making a decision to fly”.
The ATSB said a search of its database showed there were 46 other balloon inadvertent hard landings, contact with obstacles or collisions with the ground in Australia between January, 2007 and January, 2018.
Most were associated with changing weather conditions.
