Balloon Life,
February 2000
Saturday, January 18, 1964, was to be a banner and exciting day
for the California Balloon Club’shot air balloon participants at
WrigleyField,CatalinaIsland —oneofCalifornia’sgarden
resort spots37milesoff the mainland. TheClub’s 1stAnnual
Catalina Channel Balloon Race was about to get underway , with
theparticipants,dressedinflyingtogs,stillfussingover their
laid-out nylon envelopes attached to stainless steel frameworks,
lines and propane tanks—unlike today’smo re modern passen-
ger-carryingrattan-basket ballo ons. There were hot air balloo n
pilots,attendan ts,clubmembers,newsmen,cameramen,an d
well-wishers everywhere, all milling about, not knowing what to
do next.
It was not yet 11:00 a.m. and the race wo uldnot start for at
leastanother twohours. There wasanxietyandconfusion asto
how therace wouldbe judged, since there were elevenentries
andonlythreehotairblowersavailableonthefieldtoget
inflation started.
They all could n ot get o ff at the same time. It mattered little
exceptforthep ersonaltriump hofliftingofffirst,sincethe
shortestelap sedtimetothemainland,recordedbythepilot,
would determine the winner. The three winner’s booty, a TV set,
a fur wrap, and a case of ch ampagne, would be less than grand,
but after allthiswas a prestigious sportingev ent.
CBScameramenwouldfilmthe raceandeachcontestant
would be assigned a chase boat totrack his balloon and provide
assistance on termination offlight. The clo uds and thewind were
typical o f a Catalina January day—good, but maybe an indica-
tionor twoof suddenchanges.
Theracewasconsideredaninternationalchampionship
event,sanctionedbytheNationalAeronau ticsAssociation,
USA,andwouldbeconductedundertherulesofFédération
Aéronautique Internationale. The race wasto be accomplished
invisual flightconditions only. All balloo ns andpilotswere to
becertificatedbytheFAA,andeachballoonwastocarry
sufficientfueltoinsurecompletionoftherace.Therace,of
course,wasdesignedtopromote ho tairballooning,andwas
financedbythe BalloonClub and a smallgroupof supporters.
Theraceentrantsthemselv eswerenotable,mostalready
recordhold ersof one sport or an other. The ch art nearby details
the race entrants, withsubsequent ch anges.
There would be Don Piccard and Ed Yost from Sioux Falls,
South Dakota, both experienced balloonists and pioneers in the
develop mentof hotairballooning.Don,WorldClassaltitude
record-holderforballooning,wasthesonandnephew ofthe
renowned balloonists Jean and Auguste Piccard. Ed Yost would
be flyinghis 3-man Raven balloon, the same in which he made
a celebratedEnglishchannel crossing.Hiscopilotwouldbe a
representative ofSports Illustratedmagazine.
RichardHigbie, President of the California Balloon Club,
Attorneyandprominentballoonracer fromCorona DelMar,
California wouldbe N1197 5 as a replacement for Dr.William
McGrath, Dean o f Students at U.S.C. and one of the founders of
the balloon club. Fran k Tallman, motion picture stunt pilot, an d
Cliff Robertson, movie star, would be manningN12006 for the
race, both decked out in “top hats and tails.” Mark Semich, long-
timeballoonenthusiastandballoonbuilderfromSantaAn a,
California wouldbeliftingoffinN741 30, andDannyEllloitt,
Jr., famousyachtsmanfromNewportBeach, California would
be commandingN74131,a colorful maroon/gold ballo on.
LanceRev en tlow,famedspo rtsmanandh eirtothe
WoolworthfortunefromBeverlyHills,California;Richard
Pollard, 18 year old 19 63 champion balloon racer from Denver,
Colorado; and Tad Allen, photographer for TV Station KVOO
inTulsa, Oklahoma anda 2-year veteranballoonracer hadto
can cel out.
The femaleentranttotheballoonracewasMrs.Barbara
Keith,balloonowner andenthusiast, themother ofthreesons
andtwodaughters,andagrand mother often,fromConcord,
New Hampshire. Red-haired and no wallflower of life, Barbara
KeithwasamemberoftheBalloo nandParach uteclubsof
America, had already experienced 15 hot-airballoon flights, an d
wasagliderpilotandanexpertparachu tist(75ju mps).The
ebullient Mrs. Keith, a favorite with the crowd in her black flyin g
suitand p arachuteboots, reportedly h adsaid,inaninterview,
“Wh o wants to knit an afghan when she can sit in a little canvas
The 1964 Catalina
Channel Balloon Race
BalloonLife,February 2000
chair suspendedunder a 40-foo t bagand be partof thewind.”
The race had beensched uled for January 11, then resched-
uledforJanuary1 2,andsubsequentlycanceledbecauseof
unfav orable weather conditions. The January 18date was then
selected.Theballoonsweretobelaunchedsimultaneously,
however,inflationdifficultieswereencounteredanditwas
decidedthattheballoonswouldlift off separately. Liftoff had
been scheduled for 1 p .m., but it was already past that time when
thecontestantswerebriefedattheCasitasHotelinAvalon.
Later, after the chase boats had been assigned, lift off was again
delayedto2p.m.
It was reported that at the briefing they talked abouthowto
race, ratherthanwhetherto race. The painful days of waiting, the
delays,mountinghotelbills,andtheClub’scostofkeeping
Newsmenandthepublicitygoing—allseemedtoadduptoa
compulsion togetth e race started. The b riefingindicatedthat,
generally, there would be Southwest wind s below 2,000feet at
25 knots.
Asthemo rningprogressedandthedelaystakenintoac-
count, the McGrath balloonwastakenover by Richard Higbie,
JohnCrawfordtookovertheLanceReventlowballoon,an d
several dropped o ut, leaving a total of eight b alloons competing.
The 2p.m.hour arrived andthe env elopeswerefilledandthe
liftoffsbegan.
No one was to realize that at the end of this long day, one of
the largest air andsea search effortswould be launchedby the
CoastGuardandothers,lookingfor BarbaraKeith(N12000)
who wouldbe unaccountedfor. Noone would know th at in the
following d arkness of the day that her orange and white balloon,
descendingintoa ravaged sea, wouldtake her life in the hours
thereafter.
Sadly ,thesamedescentmarkedthefinalendofthe1st
Catalina Balloon Race and identified a hot air balloon accident.
The accid entanditsunknownquantitiescalledforanofficial
investigation by the Civil Aeron autics Board. As a Board Inves-
tigator, I was elected toinvestigate.
Weather Conditions
ThesurfaceweatherconditionsatCatalina,giventothe
balloonistsprior totherace,were asfollows:
2p.m.-Ceilingindefiniteobscuration,visibilityzero,
drizzle with fog, Temperature 49 degrees Fahrenheit, wind 25 0
degrees17knotsupto2,000feet,guststo23kts,altimeter
setting29.92 inches of mercury. Drizzle from 1:40p.m. to2:3 5
p.m. (The wind at Dana Point was reportedasSW at 25kts).
3:55p.m. (Forecasted) - 300ft scattered clouds, measured
700 feet o vercast, 8 miles visibility, 49 degrees F., Dewpoint 4 9
degrees F., wind 250 degrees 19 kts, barometric pressure 29.91.
Breaks in overcast and toweringCumulustothe East. Relative
Humid ity100%.
- Keith, Higbie, Tallman and Yost. Each had fuel for about four
hoursduration.
FrankTallmanandCliff Robertson’sballoondippedinto
the water just afterleaving Avalon, but they managed to get their
65-ft en velope back into the air to continue flight. (They contin-
ued on to within 1.5 miles off Oceanside and were picked up b y
a private boat).
The enroute windsreportedbythe balloonists, pilots, an d
boat operators agreed generally as from the SW. Frank Tallman
(N12006)rep ortedwindsfrom250degrees, Higbie (N11975)
advised 240 degrees at the surface and 260 degrees at 3,000 feet,
andboatoperatorsreportedSWwindsof25-30ktsatthe
surface.A helico pter pilottakingpicturesof theraceadvised
that the windsatthe lo wer levels were fromthe southwest.
Radar weather observationson Jan uary18 indicateda line
of rain showers about 20 miles SE of Santa Catalina at 2:15 p.m.
fromabout100milesout towithin10milesof theCalifornia
coast ona true heading of 45degrees, moving fromthe WNW
at 15 knots, with tops at 5,000 feet and 8 miles wide (at 4:15 p.m.
the line had diminishedtohalf inlength and wasmovingfrom
theWNWat20knots.Onehourlaterthemovementhad
increased to 22 knots). The line of rain showers remained to the
right of the projected ballo on courses duringthe race.
At3:22p.m., thefourballoonswereobservedstrun gout
acrossthe channel, Eastof Avalon,(withKeithat2,000feet,
Higbie and Yost at about 3,000 and Frank Tallman at 4,000) o n
a similarcourse of abo ut 50degrees, withKeithat 16.6nm at
1,800 feet, Tallman at 20.6 nm at 2,600 feet, Higbie at 24 .4 nm,
altitude not repo rted, and Yost at 26.2 nm, altitude n ot reported.
Thereafter, asYostcontinuedtowardth e mainlandonarela-
tively straight course, the other balloons drifted to the right on a
more southerlyco urse.
TheMelody Joe, piloted by JackWatts, assigned to fo llow
BalloonLife,February 2000
Barbara Keith’sballoon acrossthe channel was unable to leave
Avalonharboronherliftoffandexperienceddifficultyin
closing on the balloon because of the chopp y sea. After about 3 0
minutes, havinglost sight of her balloon and because of sea an d
fuel conditions, he altered cou rse and returned to Avalon harbor.
Afteranintervalofaboutthreehourstheballoonswere
down and accounted fo r, except Keith’s. Higbie was seen goin g
down ona Southerly co urse, 3nm off San Onofre at 3:40 p.m.,
and Frank Tallman was ob served down in the water one nm SW
of San Onofre. Ed Yost came down along the coast between San
Onofre andDana Pointat4:40p.m., the winner of therace.
Yostrepo rtedthath eobservedBarbaraKeith’sballoon
between7,000and8,000feet at 3:45 p.m., about 6 nmdirectly
South o f hisballoon. Between 4:15and4:20 she was observed
on a SE co urse at 3 ,000feet in rainsqualls about 14 nmSW of
San On ofre.
Later, at dusk, there was an unconfirmed report of a balloo n
down in the water, and a smoke signal was seen, 20 miles SW of
San Onofre. At 7:00 p.m. the U.S. Coast Guard was notified that
N12000wasmissing,andanimmediate search wasinitiated.
Onthemorningof January20theCoastGuardreceived
word that a Douglas Aircraft Company pilot had spotted N1200 0
inthe water off DanaPoint, nearLagunaBeach, California at
8:45 p.m. At 2:2 0 p.m. the Coast Guard Cutter No. 82316 located
N120008nmoffshorefromDanaPointonaheadingof 240
degreesmagnetic. Theballoon wasfound,inverted, below the
surface of the water, andMrs. Keith had expired.
The chart below shows the positions of the balloons durin g
the race andapp roximatelywhere theycame down.
Investigation
TheU.S.CoastGuardreportedthatpriortopickupof
N12000on January 20windgustswere reported inthe area of
30to40kts.Theairtemperaturewasabout40degreeF.at
pickup and the sea temperature variedfrom 52 to 54 degrees F.
It was estimated that the wind chillduring the night of January
18andthemorningofJanuaryl9wouldhavebroughtthe
temperature down to-36degrees F.
The pilot (Mrs. Barbara Keith), age 42, was reported in goo d
healthandin full co mmand of her facultiesprior to flight.Her
prior rest was reported asnormal.
Rated as a balloon pilot, Certificate #1537288, with a Class
IIImedical certificate (nolimitations),datedOctober3, 1963,
shewaseligibleforth erace.Herballoonbackgroundwas
reported as 15 ho t air balloon flights, several gas balloon flights
(withtwoforcedlandings),andtrainedinhotairballoon
operationbyRavenIndu striespersonnel,pluswatersurvival
training.
At liftoff the pilot was wearing a flight suit, parachute boots,
a hard-hat, anda life preserver vest(notinflated), an d carried
itemsof personalsurvivalequipment(notreported). When the
pilot was found, her life preserver vest had been inflated, but the
flares (reportedly carried) and dye marker packets were missing
fromth e p ocketsof the vest. The pilot was found attachedto a
50-ft line, extending out from the balloon, which was secured to
the seat. The hard-hatwas notlocated.
Survivalandoth er itemsretrievedfromthewater werea
flash ligh t (not lighted), one Allen wrench, one map, one p ack of
cigarettes,one shoestring,one cosmetic compact, one purse, a
Bal loon reportedobserved
at3000' in rain squaws
approximately 4:15-20 p.m.
PossibleKeithdistress
signal reported
Keith balloon photo-
graphed i n the clear
(see page 16)
BalloonLife,February 2000
setof keys, acigarette lighter(notoperative),one package of
flint,a few aspirin, a quantityof kleenex, and a few peanuts.
On January 22 the Orange County Coroner’s representative
reportedth at the pilot was downin the water six to eight hours
afterlifto ffandthatlifewassustainedfourtoeighthours
thereafter.N12000wasfoundcollapsedandinverted,under
water, withthe electricallyoperatedsquib(topof the balloon)
removed, anddamage was notevident.
Fuel carriedby N12000toregulate the temperature of the
air intheballoonsleevewouldhavebeenexh austedatabout
5:30 p.m. on January 18. The pilot did not carry a radio commu-
nicationssetfor the race.
It is of note that the participants of th e race were aware of a
small craft warnin gfrom Point Conceptionto Newport Beach
forecastingSWtoNWwindsfrom15to30kts,withlocally
stronger gu sts.The sea driftatthe time of the race andduring
subsequent periods, estimated b y the boat operators, was one to
three kts/hour fromth e southtothe north; however, data could
not be found tosupportthisestimation.
Persons in boats, aircraft, and helicopters observed N1200 0
during the course of the race; howev er, the last reliable observed
positionwas about 17nmEastof Catalina Island at 1 515 ona
magnetic course of about 70degrees.
Detailedinvestigationofthe p ropane g asburners,tanks,
lines, and fittings subsequent to the pickup of N12000 revealed
no failures or malfunctions.
The U.S. Weather Bureau windsaloftforecast for January
18th,8:00a.m.to10:00p.m.,LosAngelestoSanDieg o
indicated wind s from 290 degrees to 270 degrees 15 kts at 3,00 0
ft increasing to 3 5 an d 40 kts at 10,000 and 15,00 0 ft. The surface
winds given to the balloonists at Catalina at the beginning of the
racewas250degreesat17k ts,withguststo23kts,and
increasing to19 kts at3:5 5 p.m. Enroute win ds reportedby the
balloonists,andotherpilots,werefrom24 0degreesatthe
surfaceand2 60degreesat3,000ft.Boatoperatorsestimated
SW winds at 25-30 kts at the surface. The Balloon Club reported
SW windsat25 ktsatDanaPoint during the race.
N12000 was an Orange/White stripedS-40 Vulcanhot-air
balloon(Cost from$3,500to$5,000 ) manufacturedbyRaven
Industries, Inc., Sioux Falls, South Dakota on May 9, 1963. The
balloon, S/N 108, was registered to Balloons, Inc., Farmingto n
Avenue, Hartford, Connecticut. The balloon was designed for a
one-mancrew,600poundgrossweight(80poundsballoo n
weight), using a hydrocarbon propane-heated system fed by two
liquid Benson burners. Forty feet in diameter, with a volume of
30,000Cu.ft,theballoonhada fligh t du rationoffourhours,
withan altitude range of zeroto 10 ,000ft.
The seat was made of tubular steel, which was attachedto
the envelope by y-shaped steel cables. Theseat was not equipped
with a seat belt, and the craft was not equipped with oxygen. The
controlsconsistedof a fullpower/takeoff blast valve, a needle
valve forcruise andminor adjustments, one pilot lightburner,
and one electrically-co ntrolled squ ib. The balloon was equipped
with an altimeter, a rate of climb instrument, and a pyrometer for
determiningenv elope temperatures(at the top of the ballo on).
TheS-40balloonwascompletelyportable,exhibitional,
anddesignedfor competition. Fuelcostconsumptionwasre-
portedas$2/hr.Incalmweather,twomencouldlaunchthe
balloon inlessthanten minutes.
Normally, th e balloon would be inflated with hot air from a
portablegroundblower.Whenthesleeveoftheballoonex-
tendedto anupright position, the burners wouldbe lighted an d
the balloon wouldbe lau nched. The needle valve andthe blast
valve o perated du ring flight to con trol burner operationand the
Analysis
The pilot was qualifiedas a hot-air balloonpilot,andwas
properlycertificated.Thepilotwasequippedfor thistypeof
flightandshouldhaveb eenawareoftheweatherandsea
conditions since all the pilots were briefed on the weatherand the
race cond itionsprior to the start of the race.
TheballoonN1200 0wasproperlyequippedandcertifi-
catedfor the flightwithsufficientfuel for ab out four hoursof
flight.
Theposition s,times,andaltitudesgiveninstatements
indicated that at about seven milesout from Catalina Island the
Keith balloon was on a direct course for a landing between Dana
Point and San Clemente City at about 2,000 ft altitude. From the
seven -mile position the Yost balloonwas about two miles East
andon e mileNorth,theHigbieballoonwasabouttwomiles
almost directlyahead, andth e Tallmanballoonwas about two
milesEastandaboutone-halfmileSo uth.Allthreeofthese
balloons wereat analtitude from3,000to 4,000ft.
There wereindication sthatthereaftertheHigbie balloon
gainedon and passedboth the YostandTallmanballoons, an d
it was a fact that the Higbie balloon contacted the water, short of
itsgoal, before either the Tallman or the Yo st balloons.
TheKeithballoonwasobservedintheclearat1,800ft
altitude,about17nmoutat3:15p.m.ACessna172pilot
reported seeing and photo graphing the Keith balloon about 4:0 5
p.m.atanaltitudeofabou t1,300ft,andagainobservedthe
balloonatabout4:20p.m.enteringacloudlayer.Thislast
observation was about 27nm out from Catalina and to the right
ofa direct course from Catalina to the mainland. Considering the
fact that the Keith balloon wasnot subsequentlyobservedand
the po sition of the balloon with respect to the participants ahead,
it is conceivable that the balloon was ascended thereafter to take
advantage ofhigheraltitud e windsandasa resultthe balloo n
enteredunfavorable wind conditions.
TheprojectedpathsoftheHigbieandTallmanballo ons
frommidchanneltothe water landings,basedonthe landin g
positions,describedafairlylargearc totheright. Bothof the
balloonswereflownathigheraltitud esthantheYostballoon
during the latter part o f the race. The Yostballoon remained at
loweraltitud esandmaintainedarelativelystraightcourse
throughouttherace.If theKeithballoonwasflownathigher
altitudes than the Higbie andTallmanballoons, thenitisprob-
able that winds were encountered which would have carried the
balloon ina wide arc tothe right to the location away from the
California coastline.
There wasa reportthatthe Keithballoonwas observed at
3:45p.m.SouthofSanClementeCity.Anotherreportposi-
tioned the Keith Balloon Southwest of Oceanside at 4 :15 to 4:2 0
p.m. Still another report indicated the balloon down abou t d usk
BalloonLife,February 2000
andasmokesignalobservedabo uteightmilesoutfrom
Oceanside. None of these reports could be confirmed.
The consensus of boat operato rs, normally operating in the
area covered by the balloon race, indicated that the sea drift from
January18tothetimetheballoonwasfoundandpickedup
would have been one to th ree kts/hr to the North and Northeast.
Consideringa computedfuelexhaustiontime of5:30p.m.on
January 18 and the sea drift, the Keith balloon cou ld hav e drifted
tothe positionwhere itwasfoundonJanuary20.
The fact that two electrical switches had to be actuated at the
same time to effect collapse of the balloon on landing, it must be
determined that the pilot was in full command of her faculties on
landingandthata reasonablysuccessful landingonthe water
wasaccomplished.
It must be noted that the life preserv er vest worn by the pilot
had b een inflated (by mouth sincethe vest was not equipped with
cartridges) and that flares and two dye marker packets, normally
carried inbutton-downpockets inthe vest, hadbeenremoved.
When the balloon was retrieved, two empty dye marker packets
werepickedup;however,thesepacketswerelostoverboard
later.
It was reported by the Coronerand other sources that the 50-
ft tether line from the gondola was not attached to the pilot at the
startof the balloon race.
ThecauseofdeathasdeterminedbytheCoronerwas
asphyxia duetodrown ing.TheCoroneradvisedthatthe pilot
was in the water between 6 and 6:30 p.m. and there was evidence
of pneumonia.Thepilo texpiredabout2a.m.onJanuary19,
1964. Consideringthe computeddowntime, the waterandair
temperaturesfor the time of day,andthe existingwindcondi-
tions, it isprobable that the pilot was exposedto an equivalent
temperature of about minus36 degreesF., a chillfactor which
precluded survival. Thep ilot experienced a 10-inch bruise alon g
therightgroinareaandasuperficialabrasionovertheright
anterior kneesometime durin g thedownperiod. TheCoroner
advisedthatthese marks were experienced before death, prob-
ablyasa resultof contact withthe 50-ft line.
Recommendation
It wasrecommended that the Administrator, FAA:
1.Takecognizanceofthedevelopingsportofhotair
balloonracingandprovideguidan ceandsurveillanceforthe
conduct of such sport.
2. It is submitted that ho t air balloonracing is in a develop-
ingstageandwillreachconsiderableproportionsasasport,
similar to th at of gliding and sky-diving. Inasmuch as this sport
involves flightthrough n avigable airspace, indeterminable ter-
minationofflight,andop erationwithinareasofcongestion,
safety of persons andproperty would necessarily dep end on the
proper conduct of operation.
3.Toinsuremaximumsafety,itissubmittedthatrace
parameters shouldconform torequiremen tsdevelopedby Bal-
loonSp orts organizations and associations withthe FAA, con-
sideringthefollowingaspects:Communications;flightplans
andclearances;pickup,rescue, andmonitor facilities;season,
weather,climatologicalconditions;flig htplanning;areaand
routecontrol;seaandterrainconditions;capabilityofcraft;
personal equipment; andpersonn el qualificatio n and training.
Recovering Barbara Keith’s envelope.
