Accident to the Lindstrand LBL 210A registered F-HGAS on 16/06/2021 at Castelnaud-La-Chapelle (Dordogne)

Cat. 2 investigation report: simplified-format report, adapted to the circumstances of the occurrence and the investigation stakes.

After 25 flight minutes, the pilot initiated a descent to reach a height of around 500 ft. He did not manage to stop the descent, despite prolonged use of both burners equipping the balloon. He focused on managing this problem and warned the passengers of the imminent landing at a very late stage, just several seconds prior to the impact when he realised that he was unable to prevent it. The passengers did not have time to adopt the safety position. The landing was hard and several passengers were seriously injured when the balloon struck the ground.
The pilot intended to regain altitude after this first contact with the ground and did not turn off the pilot lights.
The investigation was unable to explain the involuntary descent of the balloon.