Balloon safety tested in gusty wind for NYC's Macy's Thanksgiving Day parade

(AP) A giant, inflated cartoon character was led down Broadway six months ahead of the Macy's Thanksgiving Day parade so its maneuverability in high wind could be analyzed.

Monday's test of the yellow Pikachu balloon follows last year's accident in which two sisters were injured when an M&Ms balloon struck a light fixture along the parade route and debris fell on them.

Engineers and parade experts will examine photos and video of the Pikachu balloon's movement and the work of several dozen handlers on the ground and report to a panel that is studying balloon safety. Pikachu is one of the characters from the Pokemon series of video games, cartoons, books and trading cards.

The balloon bobbed along about 20 to 30 feet above the street Monday. The weather service said wind in Manhattan gusted to 20 mph during the day.

Guidelines say the balloons must be grounded if winds reach 23 mph with gusts stronger than 34 mph.

Last year in Times Square, tethers of the M&Ms balloon knocked off part of a street lamp. Two sisters, visiting from Albany, were hit by debris. One needed nine stitches for a head wound; the other suffered a bump on her forehead.

In 1997, 45 mph winds forced a "Cat in the Hat" balloon into a metal pole on Central Park West. A woman who was hit by falling debris suffered a fractured skull and was in a coma for nearly a month.