ASN Wikibase Occurrence # 282731
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| Date: | Wednesday 3 June 1992 |
| Time: | 20:00 |
| Type: | Thunder & Colt 160 |
| Owner/operator: | Zebra Ballooning Ltd |
| Registration: | G-ZBRA |
| MSN: | 1530 |
| Fatalities: | Fatalities: 0 / Occupants: 9 |
| Aircraft damage: | None |
| Location: | Godinton House, Godinton Estate, Ashford, Kent -
 United Kingdom
|
| Phase: | Landing |
| Nature: | Passenger - Non-Scheduled/charter/Air Taxi |
| Departure airport: | Biddenden Vineyard, Gribble Bridge Lane, Biddenden, Ashford, Kent |
| Godinton House, Godinton Estate, Ashford, Kent |
On the evening of 3 June 1992, after an uneventful flight from Biddenden Vineyard, Gribble Bridge Lane, Biddenden, Ashford, Kent, the pilot of Thunder & Colt 160 hot air balloon, G-ZBRA, owned and operated by Zebra Balloons of Maidstone, started his descent to land in the grounds of Godinton House, Godinton Estate, Ashford, Kent
All went well until the balloon was just six feet from the ground. The pilot instructed his eight passengers to adopt the landing position and he then pulled the rip panel open. The result was a heavy landing which, whilst it did not damage the balloon or its basket, caused three of the passengers to suffer serious injuries (two with broken ankles - as the latter part of the AAIB report is missing online, I'm unaware of the nature of the third person's injury) and the other five to suffer minor injuries - despite the basket staying upright.
G-ZBRA was undamaged, and continued in service until 7 July 2000, when the registration was cancelled by the CAA (and the airframe de-registered) on the grounds of "Transferred to another country or authority - to: SOUTH AFRICA.
Sources:
1. AAIB: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/5422feca40f0b61346000a51/Thunder___Colt_160__AX10-16__Balloon__G-ZBRA_08-92.pdf
2. https://sussexhistoryforum.co.uk/index.php?topic=18507.0
3. G-ZBRA at Hungerfoed, Berkshire 3/1/1993: https://abpic.co.uk/pictures/view/1400339
4. https://latitude.to/articles-by-country/gb/united-kingdom/154283/godinton-house
Revision history:
| Date/time | Contributor | Updates |
|---|---|---|
| 10-Sep-2022 22:33 | Dr. John Smith | Added |
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