ASN Wikibase Occurrence # 175018
This information is added by users of ASN. Neither ASN nor the Flight Safety Foundation are responsible for the completeness or correctness of this information.
If you feel this information is incomplete or incorrect, you can submit corrected information.
| Date: | Sunday 20 July 1997 |
| Time: | 09:27 |
| Type: |  Cameron A-210 |
| Owner/operator: | Convergent Communications PLC |
| Registration: | G-OJWE |
| MSN: | 4081 |
| Fatalities: | Fatalities: 1 / Occupants: 10 |
| Aircraft damage: | Destroyed |
| Category: | Accident |
| Location: | North Ferriby, Haltemprice, East Yorkshire -
 United Kingdom
|
| Phase: | En route |
| Nature: | Passenger |
| Departure airport: | Hesslewood Country Park, Humberside |
| North Ferriby, Haltemprice, East Yorkshire | |
| Investigating agency: | AAIB |
| Confidence Rating: |  Accident investigation report completed and information captured |
Written off (destroyed) when crashed at North Ferriby, Haltemprice, East Yorkshire when collided with a 33 kVA overhead HT Power line, 8 metres above ground level. One passenger was killed, seven passengers and the pilot were seriously injured. According to the following extracts from the official AAIB report into the accident:
"The departure point was Hesslewood Country Park which is on the north shore of the River Humber, just to the west of the Humber Bridge; on the previous day from the same location the pilot had conducted a flight which had crossed the River Humber and landed to the south of it.
The passengers and pilot met at 05:30 hours, for the flight which was planned to last about one hour. There was one more passenger than originally manifested which made the total twelve, plus the pilot (total thirteen person on board).
The balloon eventually took off at about 08:31 hours and tracked north west for a short time. As it climbed, the track became south west. It continued to drift slowly south west over the Humber Estuary at an altitude of about 600 feet amsl.
By 08:53 hours, it was still only about 270 metres from the north shore. The pilot had made radio contact with the recovery vehicle and told the crewman that he would not be crossing the river Humber. The balloon then descended and began to track north west.
As the balloon approached the land,it appeared to fly parallel the shoreline for a short time before landing on the foreshore at 09:08 hours. A man who was walking his dogs had seen the balloon flying at low level along the shore and, when it landed on the mud just above the water line, he approached to offer assistance. The pilot asked him from which direction the wind appeared to be coming and he indicated that it was from the southern tower of the bridge. He was then given a line which he was told to tie to the outside of the basket.
The pilot made a short burn to lift the balloon off the ground and, with the assistance of three passengers who had disembarked, he pulled the balloon over a rocky area and onto the shore path. The pilot asked him if the area was accessible by vehicle and was told it was. The pilot then got out of the basket and looked around the immediate area before getting back in and asking the man to hold the line until the basket was about 6 feet of the ground and then to release it.
At 09:18 hours, the balloon took off again and flew north west at relatively low level. By 09:24 hours it had covered about 450 metres and was seen stationary, at low level, over the southern end of the rear garden of a house in North Ferriby. It then climbed and turned left to track approximately south.
A video recording made by a local resident showed the balloon descending into an adjacent field. As it passed over a 33 kVA power line it appeared to stop and descend almost vertically, possibly even backwards. A short burn of about 2 seconds was heard followed immediately by a continuous burn of about 13 seconds which lasted until the basket short circuited the cables and burst into flames.
The envelope and burners separated from the basket, which tilted, spilling the passengers out onto the ground some 30 feet below. The last relevant recorded GPS position was at 09:26:40 hours and the power line interrupt was recorded at 09:26:35 hours".
The AAIB report notes that the balloon was "destroyed"; however, the registration G-OJWE was only belatedly cancelled by the CAA on 26 October 2001, four years after the accident
Accident investigation:
 |
|
Sources:
1. AAIB: https://www.gov.uk/aaib-reports/cameron-a-210-g-ojwe-20-july-1997
2. https://apnews.com/article/a656606b46079a333197832542cd3637E
3. The Independent Sunday 20 July 1997: https://www.independent.co.uk/news/elderly-woman-dies-in-hot-air-balloon-tragedy-1251793.html
4. http://web.archive.org/web/20150407111041/http://www.humber-rescue.org.uk/incidents1997.php
5. https://www.thefreelibrary.com/Our+balloon+hit+three+power+lines+and+burst+into+flames.+People+were...-a061010063
6. https://buffalonews.com/news/woman-killed-12-injured-as-balloon-hits-power-lines/article_0e9a1a66-4c36-54af-87f8-c9c4351d0d08.html
7. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/North_Ferriby
Revision history:
| Date/time | Contributor | Updates |
|---|---|---|
| 01-Apr-2015 21:55 | Dr. John Smith | Added |
| 13-Sep-2022 22:35 | Dr. John Smith | Updated [Time, Location, Destination airport, Source, Narrative, Category] |
Corrections or additions? ... Edit this accident description
The Aviation Safety Network is an exclusive service provided by:
Quick Links:
| ASN Home | Send Correction / Feedback |
| FSF Home | Disclaimer | Copyright |
| Contact Us | Privacy Policy |
| Press / Media |
CONNECT WITH US:
©2024 Flight Safety Foundation