Balloon Was Not Damaged, Drone Pilot Located

A balloon flying near the Teton County Fairgrounds in Wyoming was hit by a drone in August, but fortunately, the balloon was not damaged and was able to land safely. It was the first reported incident in which a drone collided with a balloon.

The Post Register newspaper, based in Idaho Falls, ID, reports that the drone operator was "inexperienced" and flying a drone with which he was not very familiar. He had overridden the geofencing function in the aircraft's software, allowing him to operate the drone within five miles of the Driggs-Reed Memorial Airport. He had not contacted ATC prior to the flight, according to the report.

The balloon pilot, Margaret Breffeilh, who is the owner of Elevated Ballooning, had two passengers on board the aircraft at the time of the collision. The drone pilot said he lost sight of the balloon on his monitor, and did not realize he was repeatedly impacting the fabric of the balloon. One of the rotors of the drone broke, and it first became entangled in one of the balloons load lines before falling to the ground.

Breffeilh said she had recently replaced the fabric on the balloon in the area where the drone hit. She said after landing, Breffeilh said the drone operator was found, and he was a "nice guy" and "very contrite."

Breffeilh contacted the NTSB, but did not report the incident to local authorities. Driggs airport administrator Lori Kyle said the FAA "took a lot of interest in this case."

I was not reported whether the drone pilot, who was not identified in the report, will face charges or fines in connection with the incident.

(Image from file)

FMI: Original report