Tears, snot and shouting.
Hot Air Fun.
ATSB – “He took a photo (Figure 2), which he sent to the other two pilots and, following receipt of this, they each elected to launch the three balloons from Peppers Creek.”
Take a close look to the ENE; take another look at the forecast and note the Dew point and Temperature,
ATSB - “The observation at 0700 for Cessnock aerodrome was nil wind, temperature and dew point 15 °C and for Maitland was nil wind, overcast at 400 ft AGL and temperature and dew point 19 °C.”
Then lets take a quick squint at ‘the rules’
ATSB – “Between 500 and 1,500 ft above ground or water, 5,000 m flight visibility is required and the balloon is to remain clear of cloud. However, no vertical clearance from cloud below the balloon is required, provided that the top of the cloud is at or below 500 ft above ground or water, and the balloon is at least 10 NM from an aerodrome with an approved instrument approach procedure.”
ATSB – “At or below the higher of 3,000 ft AMSL or 1,000 ft AGL, flight visibility of 5,000 m is required, and the balloon must remain clear of cloud and in sight of ground or water.”
Back to the pictures.
ATSB - Landing position and injuries.
The basket landed upright, with all occupants facing forwards. The pilot had demonstrated the landing position (Figure 8) prior to departure and most passengers reported adopting that position for landing. In one of the four compartments, a passenger reported that they stood in front of their partner. Some passengers seated themselves on the floor of the basket prior to the impact with the ground
ATSB will investigate, among other items of interest:-
• weather conditions and go/no-go decision making.
• survivability including assessment of injuries and basket position/loading.
No comment except one – “Folks, the weather is not great for flying right now and the dense ground fog will spoil the amazing views”. “ We will monitor the weather, which is forecast to improve a little later and expect to get underway about 0900 – please have a coffee and a muffin, relax for an hour or so and we’ll be underway as soon as safely possible".
I should, probably, add WTD; but I’ll settle for a bottle in front of me; not a frontal lobotomy…..
Hot Air Fun.
ATSB – “He took a photo (Figure 2), which he sent to the other two pilots and, following receipt of this, they each elected to launch the three balloons from Peppers Creek.”
Take a close look to the ENE; take another look at the forecast and note the Dew point and Temperature,
ATSB - “The observation at 0700 for Cessnock aerodrome was nil wind, temperature and dew point 15 °C and for Maitland was nil wind, overcast at 400 ft AGL and temperature and dew point 19 °C.”
Then lets take a quick squint at ‘the rules’
ATSB – “Between 500 and 1,500 ft above ground or water, 5,000 m flight visibility is required and the balloon is to remain clear of cloud. However, no vertical clearance from cloud below the balloon is required, provided that the top of the cloud is at or below 500 ft above ground or water, and the balloon is at least 10 NM from an aerodrome with an approved instrument approach procedure.”
ATSB – “At or below the higher of 3,000 ft AMSL or 1,000 ft AGL, flight visibility of 5,000 m is required, and the balloon must remain clear of cloud and in sight of ground or water.”
Back to the pictures.
ATSB - Landing position and injuries.
The basket landed upright, with all occupants facing forwards. The pilot had demonstrated the landing position (Figure 8) prior to departure and most passengers reported adopting that position for landing. In one of the four compartments, a passenger reported that they stood in front of their partner. Some passengers seated themselves on the floor of the basket prior to the impact with the ground
ATSB will investigate, among other items of interest:-
• weather conditions and go/no-go decision making.
• survivability including assessment of injuries and basket position/loading.
No comment except one – “Folks, the weather is not great for flying right now and the dense ground fog will spoil the amazing views”. “ We will monitor the weather, which is forecast to improve a little later and expect to get underway about 0900 – please have a coffee and a muffin, relax for an hour or so and we’ll be underway as soon as safely possible".
I should, probably, add WTD; but I’ll settle for a bottle in front of me; not a frontal lobotomy…..