On September 25, 2004, at 1830 eastern daylight time, a Firefly Galaxy 9 balloon, N2200Z, received minor damage when it impacted trees near Lewisburg, West Virginia. The certificated commercial pilot received fatal injuries and the six passengers were not injured. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed and no flight plan was filed for the local flight conducted under 14 CFR Part 91.

According to the passengers, they had landed in a field, and all of the occupants had exited the balloon, when a small airplane flew "very low" over the top of the balloon. At the same time, the balloon began to ascend, with the pilot hanging onto the outside of the basket. One of the passengers asked the pilot "if he was ok," to which he replied, "yes, I know a trick." The pilot proceeded to wrap a rope around his leg, and the balloon continued to ascend. As it reached an altitude of about 80 feet, the pilot fell from the outside of the basket.

According to the pilot of the passing airplane, he was on a "five-mile final," and had been cleared to land at the Lewisburg Greenbrier Airport, when he noticed a hot air balloon, on the ground, 1/2-mile ahead of him, and to his right. The pilot requested a 360-degree turn from the control tower, and then performed a descending right turn, passing over some small trees on the southeast side of the balloon.

The pilot then turned back to the airport, about 1/2 mile northeast of the balloon, at an altitude of 3,100 feet MSL. The balloon then began to rise, and the pilot observed a man running toward the balloon. The balloon ascended to approximately 100 to 120 feet AGL with the man hanging under the basket. It then began to drift southwest over several tall trees. At that point, the man fell from the balloon.

Examination of the balloon by a Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) inspector revealed the balloon sustained minor damage when it impacted trees.

The elevation at the Greenbrier Valley Airport (LWB), Lewisburg, West Virginia, was 2,302 feet MSL.

An autopsy was performed on the pilot by personnel of the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner, Charleston, West Virginia, on September 27, 2004.

Toxicological testing was conducted on the pilot at the FAA Toxicology Accident Research Laboratory, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma.

Submitted on 08/21/2006

Submitted by: Anonymous
Reference: http://tinyurl.com/fshsr

Copyright © 2006 DarwinAwards.com

James said:
Neutral: Darwin Award
I'm not quite sure WHAT the balloon pilot had in mind here. Perhaps he intended to moor the lightened balloon to a tree. Whatever the case, this story is pretty "out to lunch", and bizarre enough for me to speculate that the balloon pilot just MIGHT have had a true spell of cerebral flatulence when he decided to try his "trick"! It may be too wierd for my fellow mods, but I would like the readers to see this!

Sheryl said:
Neutral: Other
I'm really unsure here about whether the light plane caused the balloon to rise. I realise light aircraft don't generate much wake turbulence but ... On the other hand, the balloon pilot's actions were odd so I'm staying very neutral on this one.

Fitzroy said:
Neutral: Darwin Award
I'm confused as well. However, as I contemplate this I realize -- we don't know if the plane had anything to do with the balloon's rise, but we do know that the plane didn't make the balloon pilot tag along for the ride like that. "I know a trick" certainly belongs in a list of famous last words as well. I'm a bit uneasy about this one, but not enough to go negative on it.

Jorge said:
Maybe Toss: Other

Graham said:
Definitely Keep: For Darwin's Eyes
How bizarre! What was the balloon pilot thinking? Always steer clear of anyone who claims, "I know a trick"! I doubt the light aircraft caused the balloon's ascent, but, you never know. Stranger things have happened. I can understand grabbing the rope, but wrapping it around his leg? Perhaps he was going to use the rope as a 'ladder' to get into the basket. Just weird...

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