The Transportation Safety Board of Canada wants to make commercial hot-air balloons as safe as airplanes.
The TSB made two interim safety recommendations this morning regarding the crash of a hot-air balloon in a farmer's field north of Birds Hill Provincial Park last August that sent two passengers to hospital with burns.
Peter Hildebrand, regional manager of air investigations for Transportation Safety Board of Canada, with a photo of the August Birds Hill hot-air balloon crash site that is still under investigation. The TSB wants commercial hot-air balloons to be as safe as airplanes.
The TSB recommends the federal transport department ensure passenger-carrying balloons have the same level of safety as any other passenger-carrying aircraft. It also wants balloons have an emergency fuel shut-off.
The August crash was one of three last summer involving hot air balloons across the country. In British Columbia, two people died when a balloon crashed in flames into a trailer park. In Calgary, a gust of wind pushed a balloon into power lines. No one was hurt in that incident.
Peter Hildebrand, regional manager of air investigations for TSB's central region, said the actual cause of the August balloon accident is still under investigation but investigators are so concerned that they released these two recommendations before their work was done.
"We believe safety can't wait," Hildebrand said. "We believe these measures, if adopted, would significantly increase the safety of balloons in Canada."
The recommendations now go to the Transport Minister, who has 90 days to comment.
kevin.rollason@freepress.mb.ca
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