Hard landing Incident Western O.65 Balloon (Hot Air) G-AZOO,
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ASN Wikibase Occurrence # 71874
 
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Date:Sunday 9 September 1973
Time:15:05
Type:Silhouette image of generic BALL model; specific model in this crash may look slightly different    
Western O.65 Balloon (Hot Air)
Owner/operator:Southern Balloon Group
Registration: G-AZOO
MSN: 015
Fatalities:Fatalities: 0 / Occupants: 3
Aircraft damage: Minor
Location:RNAS Yeovilton, Somerset -   United Kingdom
Phase: Take off
Nature:Private
Departure airport:Yeovilton (EGDY)
Destination airport:
Confidence Rating: Information is only available from news, social media or unofficial sources
Narrative:
First flown: 7/5/72, Iron Acton, Avon. Set the British Women's Duration and Distance Record of 3 hours 17 minutes, and 42 nautical miles respectively.

The accident occurred when the rip panel of the balloon opened in flight at about 1,000 feet agl soon after take-off. Although attempts were made to arrest the rate of descent by continuous operation of the burner and jettisoning equipment, the pilot was unable to prevent the balloon from making a heavy landing.

The three persons on board were injured and the balloon was damaged. Balloon repaired, and sold to Semajan Ltd t/a Southern Balloon Group 9/9/74. Remained on the UK Civil Register with this owner until 17/4/2009 when cancelled as "Permanently withdrawn from use". The canopy of G-AZOO still exists in 2012, now owned by the British Balloon Museum & Library

Sources:

1, British Balloon and Airship Club, Lighter-than-air Aircraft Accident Report No 1, 1 June 1974.
2. http://www.bbml.org.uk/?mact=Envelopes,cntnt01,details,0&cntnt01registration=G-AZOO&cntnt01returnid=75
3. http://www.caa.co.uk/docs/HistoricalMaterial/G-AZOO.pdf

Revision history:

Date/timeContributorUpdates
24-Jan-2010 10:55 John Baker Added
01-Sep-2012 22:49 Dr. John Smith Updated [Nature, Source, Narrative]
30-Jul-2015 17:29 Dr. John Smith Updated [Time, Source, Narrative]

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