Brazil pilots talk about collision risks posed by balloons

The Brazilian Association of Civil Aviation Pilots (ABRAPAC) once again warned public authorities about the risk of large-scale tragedies caused by balloons. Associations in the trade and flight security experts have long raised awareness about the need for enhancing monitoring and law enforcement efforts so as not to let those who put the lives of others in danger go unpunished.

“We're getting closer and closer to having a large-size aircraft, Brazilian or foreign, brought down in an urban area, potentially with hundreds of lives claimed both on board and in land,” the association said.

In a letter sent Monday (Feb. 20) to federal and state authorities, the association declares that, last weekend alone, over ten balloons posed a threat to the safety of airplanes landing at the São Paulo International Airport, in Guarulhos city.

Recorded talks

Excerpts from conversations between pilots and flight controllers recorded last Saturday (18) and released by the Tráfego Aéreo website reveal the difficulties faced by professionals on land to guide approaching aircrafts as captains report the presence of balloons on their way.

At a certain point, the pilot of Azul flight 4961 reported he had caught sight of four balloons. A few minutes later, another captain said he had counted over ten balloons nearby. “Things are pretty tough today,” a flight controller responds by saying. In English, a pilot announced that, in addition to the balloons, his original route had been intercepted by an ad banner. Afraid of collision, the pilot of Air Europa flight 57 was forced to perform an emergency detracting maneuver while starting landing procedures, at nearly 430 km/h.

INVEPAR, the concessionaire controlling the airport, reported a total 159 cases linked to balloons from 2015 to 2016. Moreover, the seven cases reported in January this year surpass the amount of all reports in the same month in 2015 (two) and 2016 (three). Balloons are known to increase in number in the months of June, July, August, due to traditional Brazilian celebrations.

According to the Brazilian Association of Pilots, over 300 balloon-related complaints were reported to air traffic authorities in the country in 2016. The website of the Investigation Center for the Prevention of Aircraft Accidents (CENIPA) reports that pilots and flight controllers have filed 18 complaints of this nature in at least 10 cities across Brazil since the beginnin of this year.

Punishment

In addition to the alert message, the association calls for the creation of police stations dedicated to fighting the practice of releasing balloons, a crime punishable under the Criminal Code with up to five years of imprisonment for “risking any vessel or aircraft, whoever the proprietor, or to do anything that might hinder or obstruct navigation by sea, river, or air. Another law stipulates one to three years in jail or a fine for those who “manufacture, sell, transport, or release balloons which may cause fires in forests or other types of vegetation, in urban areas, or any type of human settlement.”

Translated by Fabrício Ferreira