‘Catastrophic’ risk: Pilot patched up balloon before flying 24 passengers

A commercial hot‑air balloon flight with 24 passengers on board in south-east Queensland continued as planned, even after a taped-over rip in its fabric reopened mid-flight.

In a report released on Thursday, the Australian Transport Safety Bureau found the pilot for Go Ballooning Gold Coast did a field repair on the balloon, without fully understanding the manufacturer’s limits or requirements, before deciding to continue with the flight.

During the 30-minute flight, adhesive tape used during the repair became loose – partially reopening the tear – but the pilot continued for the remaining five-to-10 minutes of the flight, rather than landing immediately.

The balloon eventually landed safely at Kerry, about 17 kilometres south of its launch site, at 6.20am on October 18 last year.

ATSB director of transport safety Stuart Godley said the pilot, who was also responsible for the balloon’s maintenance, likely did not want to disappoint the passengers who had arrived for launch.

“After hot inflating the balloon and observing no immediate degradation of the repair, the pilot likely perceived the expectations of the 24 passengers, who had already arrived for the flight, as a strong motivator to continue,” he said.

“The weight of the perceived passenger expectation would likely have the pilot searching for solutions to allow the flight to proceed, rather than cancelling and rescheduling the flight to conduct required repairs.”

Godley said the 45-centimetre tear was far exceeded the manufacturer’s allowable limit for adhesive‑only field repairs. Tears more than 2.5 centimetres required over-stitching,

“However, the pilot did not fully understand the manufacturer’s guidance,” he said.

The balloon was damaged at the Beaudesert launch site when there was a wind change at a critical moment of inflation, which blew the balloon towards the light poles.

The ATSB found that, had the balloon’s flight manual been consulted, the pilot would have known the flight should have been postponed or cancelled due to the risk of potentially “catastrophic” failure.

“Non-approved repairs that appear to work without consequence can normalise unsafe practices over time and represent a significant risk to all occupants on board,” the ATSB report found.

“Operators and maintainers should be familiar with the approved maintenance standards and practices before commencing any repair work.

“Pilots and maintainers should also be aware of external and internal commercial pressures to continue a flight without fully researching and conducting an appropriate repair.”

Comment has been sought from Go Ballooning Gold Coast.