Irvine’s balloon ride is grounded

Irvine has grounded the Orange County Great Park balloon while the Federal Aviation Administration investigates claims by a former pilot that operators of the ride repeatedly ignored safety regulations, the city said Thursday. Irvine has hired an independent investigator to conduct its own review.

The last flights were Sunday afternoon, and the decision to suspend operation of the tethered helium balloon was voluntary, said city spokesman Louie Gonzalez. “We’ve had a safe operation since we’ve been running the balloon, and 40,000 people have come up and down without incident,” said Great Park interim Chief Executive Sharon Landers. The balloon, she added, was closed out of “an abundance of caution.”

Former pilot Jonathan Bradford sent a letter to the FAA two weeks ago alleging the ride’s chief pilot flouted regulations by flying in clouds, during conditions of low visibility and high wind, and deliberately soaring higher than its permit allows.

The balloon, which is tied by a metal cable to a concrete platform, is not allowed to fly higher than 499 feet and cannot be flown within 1,000 feet of clouds or if visibility is less than five miles, according to an FAA waiver issued to the park.

Irvine has hired Richard Asper, chairman of the Aviation Professionals Group in Fort Lauderdale, Fla. He will conduct interviews, inspect flight records and examine the balloon site. He arrived at the park Wednesday and will be paid up to $15,000, Gonzalez said. The balloon will be grounded until the review is completed, but there is no timetable, Gonzalez said.

Among those the FAA plans to interview are Bradford and chief pilot Gary Stevens, whose company, BalloonVision, operates the craft through a contract with Paris-based Aerophile. The investigation is expected to take several weeks, said Los Angeles FAA office spokesman Ian Gregor.

“We take safety complaints extremely seriously,” Gregor said.

More than 40,000 people have ridden the ballon since the free ride opened in July 2007, when it became the first feature of the 1,347-acre park planned for the former El Toro Marine base.

Since it opened, the balloon ride has been closed for 19 days because of high winds or rain, park records show.

This is the second time in three months that officials have shut down the ride for an extended period. On Dec. 21, the balloon was grounded three weeks for repairs after a windstorm damaged the wheels and gondola. The balloon had been tied down but had not been secured in a “low mooring” position for high-wind conditions.

Park officials said that that closure was prolonged because replacement parts had to be imported from France.

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