| Occurrence Briefs are concise reports that detail the facts surrounding a transport safety occurrence, as received in the initial notification and any follow-up enquiries. They provide an opportunity to share safety messages in the absence of an investigation. |
What happened
On 22 September at about 0700 Eastern Standard Time, a Kavanagh E-240 balloon was operating a charter flight over Melbourne, Victoria with a pilot and 10 passengers on board.
While landing at a reserve, the pilot deployed the handling line to ground crew. The pilot then determined that the balloon was unable to land in the available space and instructed the ground crew to let go of the handling line in order to manoeuvre to a different landing site.
The balloon continued the descent and the basket subsequently made contact with the roof of a house. The balloon then landed in the original landing site with the assistance of the ground crew utilising the handling line, which was still attached to the basket. The pilot and passengers were uninjured.
Pilot comments
The pilot stated that the main contributing factor to the occurrence was the use of the handling line in an attempt to guide the balloon into the landing site. Although this is common practice, during this particular landing the pilot ran out of sufficient space in the landing site.
About this report
Decisions regarding whether to conduct an investigation, and the scope of an investigation, are based on many factors, including the level of safety benefit likely to be obtained from an investigation. For this occurrence, no investigation has been conducted and the ATSB did not verify the accuracy of the information. A brief description has been written using information supplied in the notification and any follow-up information in order to produce a short summary report, and allow for greater industry awareness of potential safety issues and possible safety actions.