NTSB CAROL · Event
Event DEN91LA100
Aircraft involved
Probable cause & findings
THE PILOT'S FAILURE TO MAINTAIN A VISUAL LOOKOUT. A FACTOR WAS: THE PILOT'S ATTENTION BEING DIVERTED.
Factual narrative
THE BALLOON PILOT WAS LOOKING FOR A SUITABLE PLACE TO LAND. HIS ATTENTION WAS DIVERTED BY PERSONS ON THE GROUND AND RADIO COMMUNICATIONS WITH THE CHASE CREW. WHEN HE LOOKED UP, HE SAW POWERLINES DIRECTLY AHEAD. HE PULLED THE DEFLATION LINE AND TOLD HIS PASSENGERS TO GET TO THE BOTTOM OF THE BASKET. THE BALLOON CONTACTED THE POWERLINES, IGNITING SKIRT PANELS AND DRIPPING MELTED FABRIC ON THE OCCUPANTS. Source: NTSB Aviation Accident Database (Pre-2008 Archive) Retrieved: 2026-02-12
Verbatim from NTSB's published report. Source file
NTSB_1991_DEN91LA100.txt.
Findings + structured fields enriched from FAA avall.mdb.
Full investigation docket on
data.ntsb.gov ↗.
Beyond the agency record
Search this event elsewhere.
Pre-filled searches into the sources where news + community discussion of aviation events lives. External sources are reported, not agency. Treat them as signal that something happened, not as fact about what happened.
Entity-clustered aviation events in the press — last 24 hr + 30-day archive.
Official agency record + docket.
Investigative docket: factual reports, photos, transcripts.
Long-running aviation incident database (Flight Safety Foundation).
Community NTSB synthesis blog — often has photos and witness reports.
Gold-standard aviation incident blog.
Aviation industry news search.
GA pilot forum — informed but rumor-prone.
GA pilot subreddit search.
Tail-number page — flight history (free tier limited).
AOPA Air Safety Institute search.
Mainstream press coverage. Recent events only.
Privacy-preserving news search.
External links open in a new tab. We don't ingest their content; we deep-link search queries.