TC Slammed in 2007 Balloon Investigation

[CD]

Three passengers injured in hot-air balloon fire launch lawsuits

By Neal Hall, Vancouver Sun
March 5, 2009

VANCOUVER - A German woman is among three people who recently filed lawsuits over a 2007 incident involving a hot-air balloon that burst into flames on takeoff and plummeted into a Surrey trailer park, killing two people and injuring 11 others.

Shannon Knackstedt, 49, and her 21-year-old daughter, Gemma, died after the hot-air balloon caught fire and began to rise, forcing those aboard to jump from the burning basket from a considerable height on Aug. 24, 2007.

Anneliese Birr of Kreuzau, Germany, has filed a lawsuit in B.C. Supreme Court alleging negligence against Fantasy Balloon Charters of Langley, which is no longer operating.

Also named as defendants are the company's director, Stephen Pennock, who was piloting the balloon at the time, the South Dakota manufacturers of the balloon, Aerospace International and Raven Industries, aircraft maintenance engineer Doug Scott and the attorney general of Canada, who is responsible for Transport Canada, which issued a flight certificate.

Birr was among 12 passengers who paid for a sunset flight. Her lawsuit claims she suffered burns on her left arm, as well as fractured ribs, collarbone and shoulder.

She also injured her hands, back, spine chest, lungs and had internal injuries to her abdomen, her legal action claims.

The lawsuit was filed on her behalf by Vancouver law firm Bull Housser & Tupper, which also filed similar legal actions on behalf of Vancouver waitress Diana Elniski-Rutledge and Aldergrove business owner Dean Ziyone.

Elniski-Rutledge, 57, claims she suffered burns on her arms and fractures to her feet and heels. The 21-metre jump also caused injuries to her legs, shoulders, back, ribs and bladder.

She claims the pain has disrupted her sleep, causing her fatigue.

She seeks damages for pain, suffering, shock, anxiety, loss of enjoyment of life, loss of past and future income, and the cost of future care.

Ziyone's lawsuit claims he fractured his hip, pelvis and right arm.

The defendants will file statements of defence at a later date to respond to the allegations, which must be proved in court.

A Transportation Safety Board probe of the fatal incident found last year that the fire and subsequent explosion was sparked by a fuel line disconnecting from a propane tank.

The disconnect was "probably due to a combination of age, wear, handling, and allowing propane under pressure to be expelled," the TSB report said.

The probe also found the balloon was overloaded, there was no emergency shut-off valve to stop the flow of propane, it had four propane tanks rather than the regulated three normally used on balloons and passengers weren't adequately given an emergency exit plan prior to launch.

Full article here...

[foxmoth]

widow;

"safety cnnot be mandated" and 'SMS not a replacement for oversight'

there, you said it all. Go get them!!!!!!!

TC has been short inspectors for a long time. Since only a few of them REALLY know what they are doing (and are willing to do something) then the shortage is multiplyed many times

Webster "inspect " 'to look at carefully, to examine or review officially"

'inspector' "one who inspects"

so maybe we need a new name for them Any suggestions?
SMS shud be encouraged, you cannot legislate it. (my boss said that)
The reason Cat, Hedley and others are reddy to criticize Tc at drop of a hat is once distrust is established, it is hard to regain. If you get cheated once, do you go back? no respect earned, none deserved.

[Widow]

http://www.google.com/hostednews/canadi ... UcwvmSePXA

Pilot in fatal BC balloon crash sues makers
By Steve Mertl (CP) – 46 minutes ago

VANCOUVER, B.C. — The owner-pilot of a hot air balloon that crashed into a Surrey trailer park two years ago, killing two passengers, is suing anyone connected with making or maintaining the balloon.

Stephen Pennock says in his statement of claim the August 2007 accident was caused by negligent design, manufacture, repair and/or distribution of the balloon's propane burner system.

A Transportation Safety Board report issued last year found fault with unauthorized modifications that added a fourth gas cylinder whose line failed, sparking the fatal fire.

The safety board criticized Pennock for giving a perfunctory safety briefing that did not include an explanation on how to exit the basket in an emergency.

Shannon Knackstedt, 49, and her 21-year-old daughter Jemma died when they couldn't escape the burning balloon before its ground tether failed and it soared into air before crashing into a trailer park near the launch site.

Several homeowners whose units were gutted by the burning wreckage are suing Pennock and his company, SRP Adventure Tours.

Pennock's suit, filed in B.C. Supreme Court this week, names a half-dozen U.S. firms involved in making or maintaining the balloon's components, as well as up to five other unnamed firms that made or supplied parts of the burner system.

Pennock says in his suit he suffered burns, scarring orthopedic injuries, post-traumatic stress and depression. The accident wrecked his profitable balloon business, he claims.

The companies were negligent in failing to warn of the hazards associated with the balloon's burner system and failing to provide safe maintenance instructions, the suit alleges.

And burner system and replacement parts were substandard and not fit for their intended purpose, Pennock claims.

Firms named in the suit have yet to file statements of defence and none of Pennock's claims have been tested in court.

But the safety board's 2008 report notes errors made by the balloon's pilot-owner and his 14-year-old company.

The safety board does not name Pennock, but Pennock identifies himself in his lawsuit as the pilot of the balloon and the owner of the company.

The passengers' preflight safety briefing "consisted of reassurances that balloon flight was very safe but did not specifically explain how they were to exit the balloon basket in the event of an emergency."

The fire began as Pennock was conducting a test burn just before he and a dozen passengers were to lift off.

He and his ground crew heard a pop and a hissing sound as the fourth cylinder's fuel line parted. There was an explosion followed by an intense fire that burned Pennock.

He ordered passengers to evacuate and escaped himself, but the report said he did not activate the emergency system that quickly would have let hot air out of the balloon, keeping the basket grounded.

Instead, the basket rose about 10 metres into the air on its ground tether attached to the balloon's trailer. Passengers jumped, many of them suffering injuries when they hit the trailer.

The tether burned through before Shannon and Jemma Knackstedt could escape. They rode the balloon's burning wreckage down as it crashed into the trailer park.

The board concluded the cylinder's fuel line broke at the tank valve, probably as a result of being frequently connected and disconnected in flight.

The burner system was designed for three cylinders to feed three burners. But a fourth cylinder was added by Pennock.

"This modification was not approved by the manufacturer as part of the type design, nor was it approved by TC (Transport Canada,)" said the report.

The board concluded it was subject to greater stresses. It also did not have an emergency fuel shut-off.

The report also said the balloon was equipped with the largest available basket, which can carry more passengers. It needed the extra fuel tank to generate more lift, the report said.

"It was calculated that the balloon's gross weight was about 1,000 pounds in excess of the maximum allowable gross weight," the report said.

The report found deficiencies in the balloon itself, with use of non-standard materials for repairs and too large a portion of it made up of repaired fabric.

The board has criticized Transport Canada for its lack of oversight of the ballooning industry after the Surrey crash and another non-fatal accident in Manitoba the same month.

Neither Pennock nor his lawyer were available for comment.

When the safety board report was issued last September, Pennock's spokesman said the pilot has struggled with what happened.

John Kageorge noted that Pennock did everything he could to help the safety board in its investigation.

"There's a sense that the system has failed," Kageorge said last year. "People have died, lives have changed and this operation has been inspected regularly and passed by Transport Canada."

[C-FABH]

The SMS discussion is not applicable to hot air balloon operations. Hot air balloons will be ignored with or without SMS, it just aint that big of an issue.

Sundance Balloons, Canada's largest balloon company, has more commercially registered aircraft than Skyservice.

[Widow]

... and Sundance has it's own legal woes: viewtopic.php?f=54&t=57250

[SeptRepair]

So this pennock guy has modified the ballon by adding an extra fuel tank ( which failed), tried to take off over weight, and had repairs on the ballon that were wrong, yet is suing the manufacturer for negligence? Do people not know how to take responsibilities for their own actions? I hope he loses his case.

[Chuck Ellsworth]

Conversely there are home built s that are eons ahead of certified factory built airplanes.

[Widow]

The pilot of a hot-air balloon that crashed into a Vancouver-area trailer park three years ago, killing two people, has lost a battle for more workers' compensation.

Two passengers died when the balloon carrying 13 people caught fire just before liftoff, snapped its tether and came crashing down into the Hazelmere trailer park in Surrey on Aug. 24, 2007.

The pilot, who was not named in the latest documents, has previously been identified as Stephen Pennock in numerous lawsuits.

The pilot has never spoken publicly about the crash, but documents from the recent WorksafeBC review decision detailed numerous problems he has faced since the incident, including burns to his body and injuries from heat in both lungs.

The documents say he also suffers from post-traumatic stress disorder and depression problems that doctors say are unlikely to improve until his legal issues are resolved.

The pilot also told the board he has lived off credit cards and the sale of personal property for two years while he waited for temporary benefits to be paid, and he disputed WorksafeBC's cutoff date for those benefits.

The documents say he won't be able to work near open flames, be a pilot or a passenger in hot-air balloons or operate dangerous machinery.

But the WorksafeBC review officer upheld a previous finding that the pilot had recovered from his physical injuries by January 2009.

Full article HERE