ASN Wikibase Occurrence # 282777
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| Date: | Sunday 14 August 1994 |
| Time: | 06:20 |
| Type: |  Thunder AX-9 |
| Owner/operator: | Canterbury Balloons |
| Registration: | G-BTMN |
| MSN: | 2003 |
| Fatalities: | Fatalities: 0 / Occupants: 6 |
| Aircraft damage: | None |
| Location: | Ripple, near Dover, Kent -
 United Kingdom
|
| Phase: | Landing |
| Nature: | Passenger - Non-Scheduled/charter/Air Taxi |
| Departure airport: | Canterbury, Kent |
| Ripple, near Dover, Kent |
In the early morning of 14 August 1994 Thunder AX-9 hot air balloon G-BTMN, owned and operated by Canterbury Balloons, was flown east from Canterbury and was approaching the coast when the pilot decided to land. Two attempts at landing were unsuccessful and as the third was attempted, the pilot noted that this would take him close to a milking shed, containing dairy cattle, near Ripple. Perceiving that making a burn at low altitude could disturb the cows, and produce a significant insurance claim by the farmer, the pilot put down some ten metres short of the planned landing spot and, as he chose not to make a low level burn, his landing was heavier than otherwise it would have been (i.e. with the burn having a 'cushioning' effect).
Matters were further complicated by the surface wind being stronger than predicted and the balloon touching down on a steep slope. The result was one of the balloon's passengers suffering a minor injury but the balloon was recovered without damage.
Ripple, also known as 'Ripple Vale', is a village and civil parish in the Dover District of Kent, England.
No damage was sustained to G-BTMN. The balloon was first registered on 17 May 1991, and re-registered to Canterbury Balloons on 25 August 1993. G-BTMN was sold on and re-registered a further three times (on 15 July 1997, 23 June 1998 and 28 March 2002). The registration was finally cancelled by the CAA (and the airframe de-registered) on 23 January 2008
Sources:
1. AAIB: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/5422eb0440f0b61342000045/Thunder_AX9-120_S2_Hot_Air_Balloon__G-BTMN_10-94.pdf
2. https://sussexhistoryforum.co.uk/index.php?topic=18360.0
3. G-BTMN at Southampton 6 July 1991: https://www.flickr.com/photos/chrysanyo/51081018762/in/photolist-2kPRzf3
4. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ripple,_Kent
Revision history:
| Date/time | Contributor | Updates |
|---|---|---|
| 11-Sep-2022 21:20 | Dr. John Smith | Added |
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