Complacency caused Scientific balloon crash

A NASA report concluded that complacency was to blame for the crash of a scientific balloon on April 28 near Alice Springs, Australia. Credit: NASA

Complacency in a variety of forms led to the April crash of a huge NASA science balloon carrying a multimillion-dollar telescope in the Australian outback, according to a new report released today.

A NASA Mishap Investigation Board has concluded that weather conditions were acceptable for the failed balloon launch on April 29, and there were no technical problems with the balloon or its scientific payload, a $2 million gamma-ray telescope. 

However, the board identified 25 different human-caused factors that led to the spectacular crash.

Most of these causes were related to shortcomings in risk analysis, contingency planning, personnel training, technical knowledge, government oversight and public safety accommodations, according to NASA officials.

"First, the [NASA] Balloon Program has been operating under an underlying assumption that the risks to the public only exist in the overflight of populated areas," the report states. "This assumption has led to a very limited view of the hazards and their associated targets involved in launching balloons. 

Next, the decades of successful balloon launches under a tight budget have led to complacency and a sense that performance of safety and technical measures can be relaxed under the guise of risk acceptance."