Powered Paraglider Trike Crash Into Balloon

As with most accidents, there's more than meet's the eye. This animation is intended to show how it might not be surprising as it seems at first glance.

Visit www.FootFlyer.com for more information.
Click on "Safety"
Then click on "Midair".

Category:

Education

Tags:

• powered
• paraglider
• paragliding
• crash
• balloon
• midair

[jeffgoin]

@growingupisoptional

Each pilot has an obvious obligation to avoid collisions but, as RULES go, the ultralight pilot is tasked with avoiding all other aircraft. As is frequently the case in accidents, there's more than meets the eye. Once the report comes out it will be, among other places I'm sure, on FootFlyer.

[jeffgoin]

Thanks.

Yes, I saw the NTSB preliminary and photography adds a lot to the mix. Its possible his pictures captured the balloon, which may let us extract the balloon's climb rate using time stamps on the pictures. Not that it matters that much, but it's always good to be thorough.

My experience from really strange crashes like this is that probably half the time it's not what seems to be the case. Anecdotal, to be sure, but with a lot of data points. The final report can be quite revealing.

[jeffgoin]

Thanks!

It was probably about 6 hours since the Trike was already modeled for future installments Master PPG. It took me a couple hours to figure how to get a digital elevation model for the landscape. It could be MUCH more accurate but I was just trying to see what it could look like from the PPGers perspective.

[jeffgoin]

You're quite welcome. Hopefully this is something we help reduce the chance of ever happening again. It was an eye opener to me that such a thing would even be possible. I don't fly with balloons much but certainly believe it can be done safely with responsible, experienced pilots applying the lessons learned from accidents like this and other techniques.

[growingupisoptional]

Situational awareness fail.

Both aircraft have the same rule to follow. Give way to the aircraft below that is climbing.

That said balloons have crashed into balloons and paragliders into paragliders before.

When the pilot fails there's not much else that can be done.

[Hample]

@eyeeye1

[cheerspilot]

Great video Jeff. The NTSB report states the balloon was at 5500msl which would be 2000agl which confirms comments by an FAA official they were between 1k & 2k ft. Standard rate of climb at balloon events is limited to 200fpm which is vastly exagerated in the video. The NTSB report states the ultralight pilot told the balloon pilot that he was taking photographs when the collision occurred, which would explain why the "slight turn" in the video was not executed. Lesson: Fly the aircraft first!!

[eyeeye1]

Thank You!

[mytube6666]

Incredibly edifying, Jeff! Your contributions to PPG know no bounds. How long does it take you to create such an elegant little animation?