1989 Alice Springs hot air balloon crash

Mid-air collision between two hot air ballons September 2019 January 2012 1989 Alice Springs hot air balloon crash Accident Baloon, Slovakia, Lamač.JPG A hot air balloon similar to the accident balloon 13 August 1989 at 6:38 am ACST (UTC+9:30) Hot-air balloon mid-air collision Near Alice Springs, Northern Territory, Australia Toddy's Ballooning13 Die In 1,000m Balloon Plunge http://www.hotairballoons.com.au/hot-air-balloons-articles/1989/8/13/13-die-in-1000m-balloon-plunge/ 8 January 2012 Sydney Morning Herald 13 August 1989 Peter Hughes Christine Rau Malcolm Brown As posted on www.hotairballoons.com.au Alice Springs 12 1 13 0 On 13 August 1989, two hot air balloons collided near Alice Springs, Northern Territory, Australia, causing one to crash to the ground, killing thirteen people. It was the world's deadliest ever ballooning disaster until February 2013, when a balloon accident near Luxor, Egypt killed 19 people. 2023 May, it remains the deadliest ever ballooning accident in Australia, and the third-deadliest worldwide, surpassed only by the Egypt crash and a balloon accident in Texas in 2016 that claimed the lives of 16 people. Accident The flight took off at Santa Teresa Road, 29 kilometres south east of Alice Springs.13 die when balloon drops from the sky https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=wXdUAAAAIBAJ&sjid=WY8DAAAAIBAJ&dq=alice-springs%20toddy's&pg=6672%2C5101835 The Daily Record Ellenburg, Washington UPI 14 August 1989 8 The accident was the result of a mid-air collision at 6:38 am, local time. One balloon ascended, colliding with another balloon above it. The envelope of the lower balloon engulfed the basket of the upper balloon, causing a tear in the envelope. The lower balloon hovered briefly, before rapidly deflating and plunging to the ground at high speed, killing its pilot and all twelve passengers. One body was reportedly thrown clear of the basket. The pilot had turned off the gas burners before impact. The male pilot and ten of the passengers were Australian. Six of the passengers were male and six female. One male passenger was Danish and another male passenger was an Italian who lived in Monaco. All of the passengers were adults.Death at the Alice https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=hrMyAAAAIBAJ&sjid=SZEDAAAAIBAJ&pg=2746%2C5586366 Robinson Paul The Sunday Age Agenda section 27 August 1989 1 & 2 The descent reportedly lasted 51 seconds. Witness statements said the balloon "folded and fell to earth" and that it "fell to the ground like a streamer". A tourist in another balloon said, "I could see one of the balloons rising quite fast under another balloon. The lower balloon came up and hit the other one. Its top was touching the basket and it was shaking the passengers around. A rip appeared at the top of the balloon and it started to move away. It wasn't a very rapid movement. It moved away slowly but you knew it was in trouble. The pilot tried frantically to blast hot air into the stricken 'chute as the balloon lost height but there didn't appear to be any panic." The tear in the stricken balloon's red and black envelope was described as being the size of a bed sheet,13 die in hot-air balloon crash https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=02gaAAAAIBAJ&sjid=8SsEAAAAIBAJ&pg=4177%2C6027283 The Milwaukee Journal AP 14 August 1989 3aAugust 2024 InternetArchiveBot yes and the balloon crashed between two small trees in open scrubland about 16 kilometres from Alice Springs Airport.Balloon crash kills 13 https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=cDNAAAAAIBAJ&sjid=RVkMAAAAIBAJ&dq=alice-springs%20toddy's&pg=6833%2C42287 Record Journal Meriden, Connecticut AP 14 August 1989 5 Another news report said that ten bodies, arms interlinked, were found in the balloon's gondola. Three others were nearby in the sand, having apparently been ejected. Four balloons were in the air at the time of the accident. The pilot of one of the other balloons had made a radio call to alert the emergency services. Passengers of the other balloons were treated in hospital for shock on their return to Alice Springs.13 die in hot air balloon collision https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=cDNAAAAAIBAJ&sjid=RVkMAAAAIBAJ&dq=alice-springs%20toddy's&pg=6833%2C42287 The Glasgow Herald Reuters/AP 14 August 1989 4 Investigation The Bureau of Air Safety Investigation (BASI) found that the operator of the upper balloon, the operator of the ballooning company to which both balloons belonged, had failed to give way to the lower balloon as required by the company's operations manual. The investigation report said that the upper balloon was found to be missing the mandatory instrument package and that its pilot had refused to cooperate with investigators. Both balloons were fitted with ultra high frequency radios operating on the same channel, but neither pilot contacted the other.Balloon crash pilots both broke rules, says report https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=cDVWAAAAIBAJ&sjid=7ecDAAAAIBAJ&pg=2473%2C8532401 Hughes Peter The Sydney Morning Herald 29 November 1989 9 The investigation found also that the pilot of the lower balloon, which crashed, had failed to properly assess the position of the upper balloon before ascending in close proximity to it. The investigation reported that the balloon plunged 2000 feet. The report said safety measures flowing from its investigation were now being implemented and that the Civil Aviation Authority should improve surveillance. Aftermath In 1992, the Northern Territory Supreme Court sentenced the pilot of the upper balloon, Michael Sanby, to two years' jail, with an eight-month non-parole period, after an eight-man, four-woman jury had found him guilty of committing a dangerous act. He was found not guilty on 13 charges of manslaughter. The charge of committing a "dangerous act" was reported at the time as being unique to the Northern Territory. The judge found that the pilot had "failed to keep a proper lookout for a period of 30 seconds (during which the other balloon was hidden from view) and that the failure seriously endangered the lives of those below". During his 13-week trial, the court was told that Sanby had outlaid about $1 million of borrowed money to get into the new commercial hot-air ballooning industry, and that business at Toddy's Safari Ballooning was booming.Mackinolty Chips 3 December 1992 Balloon Disaster Pilot Jailed The Sydney Morning Herald Australian Associated Press http://www.balloonflight.com.au/balloon-flight-articles/1992/12/3/balloon-disaster-pilot-jailed/ dead 11 January 2012 https://archive.today/20121230181253/http://www.balloonflight.com.au/balloon-flight-articles/1992/12/3/balloon-disaster-pilot-jailed/ 30 December 2012 As posted on www.hotairballoons.com.au Sanby's conviction was subsequently overturned on appeal.http://www.supremecourt.nt.gov.au/archive/doc/sentencing_remarks/0/93/0/NS001050.htm MICHAEL WINSTON SANBY v R Northern Territory Supreme Court 22 October 2013 23 October 2013 https://web.archive.org/web/20131023062607/http://www.supremecourt.nt.gov.au/archive/doc/sentencing_remarks/0/93/0/NS001050.htm dead See also List of ballooning accidents References 30em External links https://www.atsb.gov.au/sites/default/files/media/27960/aair198900820.pdf Kavanagh Hot Air Balloon E-260, VH-NMS, 14 km SSE of Alice Springs Airport NT, 13 August 1989 ATSB 28 November 1989 – ATSB official report into the incident. 23 59 00 S 134 03 26 E inline,title Category:Aviation accidents and incidents in 1989 Category:Aviation accidents and incidents in the Northern Territory Category:Alice Springs Category:Disasters in the Northern Territory Category:Aviation accidents and incidents involving balloons and airships Category:Mid-air collisions in Oceania Category:1980s in the Northern Territory Category:August 1989 in Australia Category:Tourism in the Northern Territory Category:1989 disasters in Australia