Post by Dave Homewood on Mar 17, 2022 15:27:32 GMT 12
Investigator calls for mandatory pilot harnesses after two hurled from hot air balloon baskets
Amber Allott
14:28, Mar 17 2022
An incident which saw a hot air balloon pilot thrown from a basket before being dragged by a rope is being investigated by the Transport Accident Investigation Commission. (File photo)
New Zealand’s air accident investigator is calling for hot air ballooners to wear harnesses during takeoff and landing, after two pilots were hurled out of the basket in two separate incidents within a six-month period.
The Transport Accident Investigation Commission (TAIC) this week released its preliminary report into a rough landing at Lyndhurst, near mid-Canterbury’s Methven on New Year’s Day.
Owner and chief pilot of Adventure Balloons New Zealand Graeme Church was seriously injured in a “freak accident” after he was ejected from the basket, caught in a rope and dragged.
Church’s balloon was landing in a field, the report said, with him and seven passengers on board.
The basket tipped over on contact with the ground and Church was ejected. The basket and deflating balloon travelled about 35 metres across the field before coming to rest.
The passengers were uninjured and the balloon was undamaged, but a balloon rope got caught around the pilot’s neck and dragged him, causing serious injuries.
The TAIC report said all commercial hot air balloon pilots should be mandated to wear restraint harnesses during safety-critical phases of flight, and wanted every commercial balloon basket fitted with a pilot restraint harness.
The scene of the hot air balloon crash near Methven.
The report also referenced a crash near Central Otago’s Arrowtown last July. A hot air balloon basket with a pilot and 10 passengers on board struck the ground on landing.
Witnesses told Stuff at the time the balloon “hit the ground and starting bouncing”.
"As it was spinning around a couple of people fell out and the rest of them stayed in the balloon and were dragged across the paddock and through a fence, and got caught in a tree.”
The pilot was ejected and sustained moderate injuries, and two passengers were seriously injured.
In both incidents, everyone on board was at risk of injury when the balloons became pilotless and out of control at a safety-critical phase of the flight, the report said.
In each case the pilot was not wearing the installed pilot restraint harness, and sustained injuries after ejection from the basket during a heavy landing.
TAIC recommended that the Director of Civil Aviation take “prompt steps” to mandate the wearing of pilot restraint harnesses during critical phases of commercial balloon flights.
“In the interests of transport safety, it is important that recommendations are implemented without delay to help prevent similar accidents or incidents occurring in the future.”
www.stuff.co.nz/national/128085923/investigator-calls-for-mandatory-pilot-harnesses-after-two-hurled-from-hot-air-balloon-baskets
Amber Allott
14:28, Mar 17 2022
An incident which saw a hot air balloon pilot thrown from a basket before being dragged by a rope is being investigated by the Transport Accident Investigation Commission. (File photo)
New Zealand’s air accident investigator is calling for hot air ballooners to wear harnesses during takeoff and landing, after two pilots were hurled out of the basket in two separate incidents within a six-month period.
The Transport Accident Investigation Commission (TAIC) this week released its preliminary report into a rough landing at Lyndhurst, near mid-Canterbury’s Methven on New Year’s Day.
Owner and chief pilot of Adventure Balloons New Zealand Graeme Church was seriously injured in a “freak accident” after he was ejected from the basket, caught in a rope and dragged.
Church’s balloon was landing in a field, the report said, with him and seven passengers on board.
The basket tipped over on contact with the ground and Church was ejected. The basket and deflating balloon travelled about 35 metres across the field before coming to rest.
The passengers were uninjured and the balloon was undamaged, but a balloon rope got caught around the pilot’s neck and dragged him, causing serious injuries.
The TAIC report said all commercial hot air balloon pilots should be mandated to wear restraint harnesses during safety-critical phases of flight, and wanted every commercial balloon basket fitted with a pilot restraint harness.
The scene of the hot air balloon crash near Methven.
The report also referenced a crash near Central Otago’s Arrowtown last July. A hot air balloon basket with a pilot and 10 passengers on board struck the ground on landing.
Witnesses told Stuff at the time the balloon “hit the ground and starting bouncing”.
"As it was spinning around a couple of people fell out and the rest of them stayed in the balloon and were dragged across the paddock and through a fence, and got caught in a tree.”
The pilot was ejected and sustained moderate injuries, and two passengers were seriously injured.
In both incidents, everyone on board was at risk of injury when the balloons became pilotless and out of control at a safety-critical phase of the flight, the report said.
In each case the pilot was not wearing the installed pilot restraint harness, and sustained injuries after ejection from the basket during a heavy landing.
TAIC recommended that the Director of Civil Aviation take “prompt steps” to mandate the wearing of pilot restraint harnesses during critical phases of commercial balloon flights.
“In the interests of transport safety, it is important that recommendations are implemented without delay to help prevent similar accidents or incidents occurring in the future.”
www.stuff.co.nz/national/128085923/investigator-calls-for-mandatory-pilot-harnesses-after-two-hurled-from-hot-air-balloon-baskets
