Accident to the Ultramagic M105 registered F-GYFR operated by Air Pegasus Montgolfières on 13/08/2022 at Bondy
Untimely take-off of the tethered balloon, rapid descent and collision with the ground in adverse weather conditions
The pilot made preparations to provide a commercial service consisting of a series of tethered balloon flights with passengers. The circumstances of the flight (high ambient temperature and solar noon in the middle of summer) were conducive to the development of thermal phenomena incompatible with this type of flight according to the flight manual. Furthermore, the meteorological conditions collected by the pilot suggested that the wind speed could exceed the limits also specified by the flight manual for this type of operation.
To be on the safe side, he chose to set up four mooring points instead of the three normally required for this operation.
The first passengers were given safety instructions and boarded the basket. Suddenly the balloon rose, then descended again, the basket hit the ground and rose again before hitting the ground again, causing an injury to a passenger. The pilot opened the safety valve to deflate the envelope.