NTSB Factual Report

On June 16, 2005, at 1842 eastern daylight time, a Goodyear GZ-20A airship, N1A, registered to Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co., and operated by Goodyear Airship Operations, collided with trees, power lines, and the ground in Coral Springs, Florida. The aerial display flight was operated under the provisions of Title 14 CFR Part 91 with no flight plan filed. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed. The commercial pilot and the passenger reported no injuries, and the airship sustained substantial damage. The local flight departed Pompano Beach Airpark, Pompano Beach, Florida, about 1530.

According to the chief pilot of the Pompano Beach base of Goodyear Airship Operations, the pilot received a weather briefing from an Automated Flight Service Station about 1245, prior to the airship's previous flight that day. The pilot stated he departed Pompano Beach Airpark about 1530 and flew south to the Miami Beach, Florida, area, and "the weather was good along the coast with a few isolated showers southwest of Miami." At 1630, the pilot turned the airship back toward Pompano Beach with an intended landing time of 1800. The pilot stated, "I made radio calls to the home base to check on the weather status. ... At approximately 1725, we were two miles northwest of [Pompano Beach Airpark] when the isolated showers in the area north and south of us appeared to be strengthening. At this time I made a radio call to the base to ... state my intention to land as soon as possible."

As the pilot headed the airship toward the airport for landing, he stated he saw numerous cloud to ground lighting strikes within one mile of the base. The pilot stated he did not want to expose the ground crew to the risk of a lightning strike, and he decided not to land. According to the chief pilot, ground crew operations include the handling of a tall metal mooring mast, as well as the handling of the nose lines of the airship. The pilot decided to fly the airship out of the area to wait for the storms to pass. The chief pilot stated the airship was equipped with a weather radar system that was capable of scanning an approximate 45-degree arc directly in front of the airship. The chief pilot stated he was at the base monitoring area weather radar, and he maintained radio communication with the pilot to provide weather updates every few minutes.

The pilot stated that, as he flew the airship west to avoid the storm, the weather deteriorated rapidly, and he encountered "heavy rain, lightning, and severe outflow and downdrafts." The pilot stated the airship became "unable to climb, make headway, or maintain directional control" with full power on the engines, and at one point the airship was "being pushed backward and down at full-power climb." The pilot's efforts to regain full control of the airship were unsuccessful. He stated he attempted to guide it away from residences, and the airship struck trees and power lines and came to rest on the ground in an industrial complex.

Witnesses on the ground reported seeing the airship pitching and rolling before losing sight of it in heavy rain. One witness, who stated he is a certified storm spotter and HAM radio operator, observed the airship and the developing weather from before 1815 to approximately 1835. He stated, "the blimp looked to have been to have been caught in a very quick developing storm and got stranded from home base."

Examination of the airship revealed the envelope was torn, the right propeller was damaged, and the lower fin was damaged. The pilot reported no mechanical malfunction of the airship.

A review of recorded weather data for Pompano Beach Airpark revealed at 1553 observations included wind from 140 degrees at 9 knots, visibility 10 statute miles, and scattered clouds at 2,500 feet; at 1730 observations included wind from 160 degrees at 13 knots, visibility 10 statute miles with thunderstorms in the vicinity, scattered clouds at 2,000 feet, lightning distant south and northwest; at 1845 observations included wind from 300 degrees at 10 knots, visibility 2 statute miles, thunderstorm, heavy rain, mist, ceiling 700 feet broken, 2,100 feet broken, 7,000 feet overcast, and lightning distant all quadrants.

A review of weather forecast data revealed Convective SIGMET 20E was issued at 1455 for an area that included the Miami Beach area and was valid until 1755. Convective SIGMET 20E included the following information: Developing area of thunderstorms moving little, tops to FL [flight level] 400. Convective SIGMET 26E was issued at 1755 for an area that included the accident site and was valid until 1855. Convective SIGMET 26E included the following information: Developing area of thunderstorms moving little, tops above FL 450. A Miami Center Weather Advisory was valid from 1735 until 1935 for an area that included the accident site. The weather advisory included the following information: An area of widely scattered Level 4 and Level 5 thunderstorms with moderate rain moving little, maximum tops to near FL 450, coverage increasing slightly through 1935.

A review of the published FAA Approved Flight Limitations for the GZ-20A revealed the airship was certificated for operation in "extremely turbulent air: 20-30 ft/sec gust." The operating limitations stated the airship's maximum level flight speed is 50 mph indicated airspeed, and its maximum rate of climb is 2,400 feet per minute.

The distance from Pompano Beach Airpark to the Miami Beach area is approximately 28 nautical miles.

NTSB Probable Cause

The pilot's inadequate in-flight planning/decision which resulted in an in-flight encounter with weather (thunderstorm outflow), and downdrafts, loss of control and subsequent collision with trees and transmission wires.