Hot Air Balloon crash in Egypt (Luxor)
Tabs please !
The answer is that the captain has full control over the rigging of their balloon and the conduct of the flight. He also has full control over a fire extinguisher and it's currency ensuring that it is within reach at all times. How effective it would have been in this situation is anyone's guess - I wouldn't like to have to rely on it. That said, it's the one type of aircraft where you can visually inspect almost all of the critical parts and ensure that everything is arranged to your satisfaction prior to firing it up.
Here's a photo of a commercial balloon that was used on a two crew duration and distance flight, the pic is about 1/5 of the way down the page. There was quite a bit of propane aboard for launch and not a lot left at the end, The cylinders were emptied from the outside in so no full tank with fuel remaining would bear the brunt of a heavy landing.
http://www.pprune.org/jet-blast/4487...-sequel-4.html
Here's a photo of a commercial balloon that was used on a two crew duration and distance flight, the pic is about 1/5 of the way down the page. There was quite a bit of propane aboard for launch and not a lot left at the end, The cylinders were emptied from the outside in so no full tank with fuel remaining would bear the brunt of a heavy landing.
http://www.pprune.org/jet-blast/4487...-sequel-4.html
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skridlov,
i.e. not a concious decision
If you re-read I have been quite specific with my wording. However, it does not remove the fact that if someone jumps out the balloon, the balloon will ascend!
For anyone that has done a CAP611 training course in the UK, a propane fire in a balloon is, in most cases, very directional (like a flame thrower) and is easily extinguished with perhaps a half second blast with a fire extinguisher. Lots of balloons also carry fire blankets to help. The flame should not travel into the tank for quite some time, unless the tank has been run completely dry. It all depends on whether the fire fighting equipment was accessible, or not.
It is common practice to land directly onto the trailer in calm wind conditions - saves a lot of physical effort winching it onto the trailer. The handling rope may have been being used by the ground crew to tease the balloon onto the trailer into the correct position.
It seems that in the panic this was ignored
knowing in the back of their mind
If you re-read I have been quite specific with my wording. However, it does not remove the fact that if someone jumps out the balloon, the balloon will ascend!
For anyone that has done a CAP611 training course in the UK, a propane fire in a balloon is, in most cases, very directional (like a flame thrower) and is easily extinguished with perhaps a half second blast with a fire extinguisher. Lots of balloons also carry fire blankets to help. The flame should not travel into the tank for quite some time, unless the tank has been run completely dry. It all depends on whether the fire fighting equipment was accessible, or not.
It is common practice to land directly onto the trailer in calm wind conditions - saves a lot of physical effort winching it onto the trailer. The handling rope may have been being used by the ground crew to tease the balloon onto the trailer into the correct position.
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I'm not trying to be pedantic, but a 'Flame' cannot travel into a propane tank, since there is no oxygen in there for it to 'Burn' with.
I certainly would not blame a passenger for jumping out at a height they could get away with, I would do the same.
As always, things will become more clear as the investigation takes place.
Flight Idle.
I certainly would not blame a passenger for jumping out at a height they could get away with, I would do the same.
As always, things will become more clear as the investigation takes place.
Flight Idle.
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Passenger not culpable
The quick witted passenger jumped out of the basket to save his life.
He cannot be blamed.
The pilot, on the other hand, as it appears, may have jumped out without first performing his necessary duties for such an occasion.
If we do the applied maths for such situation, we see that the only way for all passengers to survive was for all passengers to jump out at almost the same time.
Was this covered in the passenger briefing? I doubt it.
He cannot be blamed.
The pilot, on the other hand, as it appears, may have jumped out without first performing his necessary duties for such an occasion.
If we do the applied maths for such situation, we see that the only way for all passengers to survive was for all passengers to jump out at almost the same time.
Was this covered in the passenger briefing? I doubt it.
Tabs please !
Flight Idle is correct. The refill process for a cylinder is to open a venting valve while filling the cylider with liquid propane / butane. Vapour is purged from the cylinder while the liquid fills the void and when liquid starts to spit from that valve, you know the cylinder is full.
The only way that another gas should be introduced is the process of "spiking". Nitrogen is used to pressurise the cylinder prior to installation in the basket such that the liquid propane is fed to the dip tube at the base of the cylinder under the correct pressure. The evaporation happens in the coils that surround the flame ensuring that the gas is delivered at high pressure. This is a normal practice in cold weather flying.
There was an incident where oxygen was used in error for spiking the tanks with the sudden but inevitable tragic results when the pilot started his hot inflation. I believe that was elsewhere in Africa. That said, there are a number of African operations that are run with the appropriate standards of airmanship.
The only way that another gas should be introduced is the process of "spiking". Nitrogen is used to pressurise the cylinder prior to installation in the basket such that the liquid propane is fed to the dip tube at the base of the cylinder under the correct pressure. The evaporation happens in the coils that surround the flame ensuring that the gas is delivered at high pressure. This is a normal practice in cold weather flying.
There was an incident where oxygen was used in error for spiking the tanks with the sudden but inevitable tragic results when the pilot started his hot inflation. I believe that was elsewhere in Africa. That said, there are a number of African operations that are run with the appropriate standards of airmanship.
