Accident to the Cameron A160 registered F-HNIJ operated by PACA’P Montgolfière on 25/06/2023 at Valensole

Although the flight file handed to the pilot indicated an endurance of 1 h 30 min, the flight time of 1 hour 45 min between the take-off and the accident remains less than the estimated theoretical endurance of between 1 h 55 min and 2 h 10 min based on the indications given by the balloon owner. The possibility of an overconsumption linked to a possible tear in the envelope mentioned by the pilot cannot be totally excluded. However, given the variations in altitude during the flight which certainly gave rise to an increase in consumption, the actual duration of the flight and the residual quantity of propane remaining in the cylinders, the hypothesis of a tear in the envelope seems unlikely.

After the three balloons had flown for 1 h 10 min, and the pilot of F-HNIJ was in descent on the standby cylinder to land on a plot of land in the valley, one of the two other pilots advised him over the radio against landing there. The pilot of F-HNIJ started looking for another plot of land, by descending to change direction and then stayed at a low height over the river. He did not then find a suitable spot to safely land. He was obliged to gain altitude again to avoid the VHV power lines crossing the valley which resulted in him extending his flight and consuming the remaining propane in the standby cylinder. After passing over the two VHV power lines, the pilot returned to one of the previous cylinders which indicated 25% before observing a loss of burner effectiveness. One of the other pilots who had just landed on a plot of land and had had to take off again at the farmer’s request indicated over the radio not to land there. As a consequence, the pilot of F-HNIJ had to extend the flight even further, thereby consuming the remaining propane in the cylinder. A few minutes later, when the balloon was in descent and heading towards a medium voltage power line, the pilot activated the two burner units to gain height. He then observed that the burner flame was ineffective and was not able to avoid the collision despite his actions to deflate the envelope beforehand.