the worse you've flown with

[Megan Avery]

what are some of the worsed injuries you've ever flown with? Just curious to find out if other addicted injured crew members and pilots will fly in pain.

[Megan Avery]

Last July, I flew 2 weeks after tearing all of the cartilage in my left ankle. I couldn't really walk for prolly a week, then I was crewing.

The 2nd was this past weekend. A few weeks ago, I moved a rib and stretched all of the muscles surrounding my ribs on my right side. I've gotten better, then got worse the day of the event. My anticipation conquered the pain, but I was in a ton of pain.

[Megan Avery]

I was just in a car accident yesterday, and there's an event this weekend. I am sore and slow moving, but I'm ready to go ballooning. I guess this makes me addicted still! lol

[Austin Burrows]

IT was my first balloon ride 2 weeks after the field of flight in Battle creek in 2005 with Terry Elliot!!
We landed in a tree and the basket tipped over and the balloon envelope was on the ground with us hanging on!!
Austin

[Dustin cantu]

i remember that

["WEE" JOHN]

I was ejected out of my balloon on a very hard and fast landing and ended up with a rib fracture. My friends in the ballooning community heard that I was done with ballooning and insisted I go for one more flight. The weekend after my incident I was back in the air. I was a little sore but everything went well

[Barb Smith]

A fully gassed balloon basket was dropped on my thumb and smashed the knuckle and the end of it - lost the nail. Managed to inflate and fly the fastest flight I've done - 40km in an hour and that was with a cold inversion. The nail has just grown back and that was in June!

[Andrew Robertson]

Careful what you say on this discussion. This could easily go in a direction that does not exactly promote the safety of ballooning.

[Kevin L. Stephenson]

After almost 600 of flying time in balloons, the only thing that has happen was a bruised knee from a very high wind landing! It is important to act responsible as a pilot or a crew member as well; That means that you ask your potential passengers if they have any recent injuries or surgeries. I once asked that question of my passengers, and a man in his sixties told my he had just had a triple by pass, needless to say, that man didn't fly with me that morning! Flying in a balloon after tearing the legiments in your ankle Megan wasn't very smart, DON"T YOU THINK!!! Use you head!. Ballooning, as safe as it is, requires COMMON SENSE! You don't climb in the basket if you've been injured, tank anyone for a ride if they have been injuried or had had a recent surgery. YOU ARE ASKING FOR TROUBLE!!!!!! This might be a factor in balloon accidents, where someone that has already been injured (playing basketball lets say) climbs into a basket for a ride and through no falt of the pilot (other than not asking if they had been injured previous) is now involved in an insurance claim or law suit. Balloonists are all ready paying TO MUCH for insurance Please think before you climb into that basket.......Best wishes!!! Kevin

[Sky Drifters Ballooning]

Since you did not ask What aircraft one flew I will chip in.

I once flew a paraglider with my entire arm in a cast. I also once flew with a broken ankle that was not yet in a cast.
Neither injury was flying related. On the first flight I pulled the glider up with one hand, flew with both brakes in one hand and landed with one hand....... The funny/sad part of this story is that someone else tried doing the same thing a couple of months later. He had heard I did it so he gave it a shot with his arm in a full cast. He broke his femur on the landing.......

The ankle injury required hopping off the hill and landing on one foot ( :

["WEE" JOHN]

I have to agree that we should be cautious of what we say here. I must say that my story that I shared was a very scary and life changing ordeal. I have learned many things from that day and share that story with new pilots to try and show how very important flying with a clear head is. I use it to illustrate the importance of decision making in a high pressure situation. New pilots must understand how to block out the pressure to fly and make the right choices. I agree that the pilot is responsible for ensuring that the people they fly are in good health as it may make for a horrible experience. I have had many times were I have deflated the balloon on a perfectly good day after finding that my passengers had some medical issues. I usually ask ahead of time if the passenger has any major medical issues. I know it is difficult to let people down that were looking forward to flying however it is much easier to do that than have the weight of someone's injury or death upon them. Many of the balloon accidents happen because of pilot error.