a newly planted crop, another balloon deflating in the  field, etc. The crew may find a site the pilot might not  have seen from the air. •  Many pilots ask crew to get landowner permission  before committing to a site or actually landing. This  is often a crew’s top priority. Finding the landowner  can take a few minutes; one crewmember can do  this while another walks out to assist the pilot. If it  is a “no,” time and fuel might have been better spent  searching for the next suitable option. •  Landings create a workload challenge for the pilot.  Consider all the tasks in the seconds before and after  landing: flying the balloon, making an approach,  briefing passengers, watching for obstacles, bracing  for landing, deciding to move closer to a road or  driveway, shutting down tanks, bleeding fuel lines,  radioing crew, directing passenger unloading,  deflating the envelope, keeping the envelope off  obstacles, dealing with a hostile landowner or dog, and  more. A single oversight, distraction, or poor decision  can compromise safety. Extra hands may be required  to protect everyone onboard and on the ground •  Crew serve as a pilot’s redundancy and work to  minimize flight risks of any nature. The FAA and  every balloon manufacturer know the safety value  of redundancy and the greatest risks (accidents and  injuries) come at landing. There is no better time  for crew to promote safety than in the flight’s last  minutes. While crew-assisted landings may make some pilots  uncomfortable, the reality is they happen all the time. This  crew role can perhaps have more impact on flight safety than  any regulation, equipment, or technique, provided the pilot  and crew decide this before the flight.  Sometimes the best landing assistance may be none at all.  Every pilot is trained to land without help from their crew.  The balloon pilot may have chosen a landing site—fully  visible from the air, with no obstacles, and perfect as is—early  in the flight. Conditions are often smooth enough for safe  landings. An unassisted landing often gives the pilot a better  feel for the balloon’s equilibrium. Letting the ground absorb  the balloon’s energy by touching and/or dragging might  be the safest option of all. The landowner might greet the  pilot in person even before the crew arrives, and passengers  may have equipment disassembled and packed before the  crew arrives. Many of these conditions frequently occur. A  thoroughly prepared crew is one that is trained and ready for  the many occasions that they are needed. Among the many adages in aviation is “takeoffs are optional,  landings are mandatory.” For every flight, there must be a  landing, and the balloon pilot should be prepared to execute  a landing with skill and precision at any time during the  flight. In the early days of ballooning, it was common to see pilots  “stick” the balloon (execute a hard landing) on a routine  basis as burner systems were generally inadequate to slow  the balloon during a rapid descent. With newer systems,  the balloon can be better controlled and a smooth, graceful  landing is a routine result, provided the pilot has planned  ahead and understands the mechanics and concepts of the  landing process. The information contained here is by no  means all inclusive, but illustrates certain methodologies to  good landing techniques. Chapter Summary 8-15