Hot Air Balloon Crashes In Flames; 1 Dead

Balloon Drifts Into Power Lines During New Mexico Festival; 2 Passengers Hurled To The Ground

(CBS/AP)  A hot air balloon crashed into power lines and burst into flames Friday during Albuquerque's annual balloon fiesta, throwing both men on board to the ground and killing one of them.

An 11-year-old boy was injured in a separate accident after getting tangled in ropes.

Witnesses said that winds had picked up a bit and that many of the balloons were flying low right before the crash.

"We had just waved to two guys inside. They were very low and then we heard and saw them hit the lines," Nicole Grant, a witness to the accident, told CBS affiliate KRQE-TV. "We saw a man fall out of a balloon lifeless. He fell into the ditch; there were sparks all over the place."

Kathie Leyendecker, a spokeswoman for the Albuquerque International Balloon Fiesta, did not know whether it was the pilot or the passenger who was killed when the Wings of Wind balloon crashed in Bernalillo, just north of Albuquerque.

One man was found dead at the scene; the second man was unconscious, Rio Rancho Fire Battalion Chief Paul Bearce said. He was in critical condition at University of New Mexico Hospital.

"I couldn't believe it," said Glenn Vonderahe, a witness. "I saw the balloon and the next thing I knew, there was a lot of fire and smoke. There was total fire under the balloon."

He first saw the balloon land, then bounce back up and apparently hit some power lines, he said. The balloon was stuck in the lines for a time, and then Vonderahe saw the balloon portion - called the envelope - float away, a burning tank still attached.

"Debris was flying everywhere," he said. The tank fell harmlessly to the ground, and the drifting envelope was eventually found about 15 miles away.

The National Transportation Safety Board will investigate the crash, said National Guard Lt. Col. John Fishburn.

The yellow, brown and orange triangle-shaped balloon was among hundreds participating in Friday's events at the balloon fiesta, which runs through Sunday.

"I was excited to see all the balloons, but to have it end like that, I was just shaking like a leaf and my legs felt like Jell-O," said witness Terri Bordelon of Sterlington, La.

There were several reports of hard landings. In one of them, an 11-year-old passenger was injured after he became entangled in the ropes and was dragged along the ground for about 20 feet, Bearce said. The boy's condition was not immediately known.

The festival, held each October, is Albuquerque's pre-eminent tourist draw. Growing from a 1972 gathering at a shopping mall parking lot, it now hosts hundreds of balloons and pilots and draws tens of thousands of visitors to the city.

But it has had fatalities before, mostly from balloons hitting power lines. Last year, a 60-year-old Oceanside, Calif., woman fell at least 70 feet to her death and three other women were hospitalized after their balloon snagged a power line.

In 1982, four people died when propane tanks on a large balloon exploded. Other fatalities were recorded in 1990, 1993 and 1998.

[kittygirl6]

I usually do not comment on these things but you have it all wrong. Hot Air Balloon Pilots have a license by the FAA. Just like airplane pilots. They have the balloons inspected just like your car. They have insurance just like a car or airplane. These were two very experienced pilots and the unpredicted wind came up while they were landing. When you go up, you must go down. That is why they were near the ground. DUH.Everybody was landing. There are regulations, they are called FAR''S. Just like the Airlines and Military. Power lines are very hard to see in ABQ. The color matches the background of the ground. Which is the color of SAND. No green trees or grass there. Balloons fly in less than 10 mph. the gust was 25. for those of you that can''t understand that. if you feel a slight breeze on your face it''s 10 mph and your car has no brakes. I would fly with both of these pilots today. They had years of experience. They were not flying 700 ballons in a downtown city. Where would they all land? In a parking lot or public streets w/ cars? Duh It''s a desert with some housing areas. It was not a populated area. I was there.

Keith heal well and Steve " May you Fly on the Wings on Angels". We all love ya.

[imperfexshun]

Posted by txgrouch2007 at 09:26 PM Oct 11, 08

Thanks txgrouch - I couldn''t have said it any better.

My condolences to the families/friends of these men.

Before they moved the balloon fiesta to a larger area near the north end of Albuquerque, they used to frequently fly over my house and we would be able to go outside and talk to the balloonists. Flying fairly low, searching for a safe place to land, they would at times land in either the park or mesa (field) near my house. There have been 1,000s of balloons here since the fiesta first started. They have always tried their best to keep everyone safe while enjoying themselves. I believe the incidence of accidents or other problems is quite low overall, considering how many balloons have flown here over the past 37 years.

thgdriver1, in addition to the scenarios posed by txgrouch, what if you ride a bike and a tire blows out, hurling you either into a crowd causing serious injury or into traffic causing a 6-car pileup; or maybe while jogging, you stub your toe, lose your balance, and are thrown in front of a car which, in trying to avoid you, causes a massive accident - are you insured for risking all of those people? If you''re so worried, thgdriver1, just stay home - oh wait, that''s not safe either - some unfortunate lady was injured by ice that fell from an airplane and crashed through her roof. I guess there''s no place safe enough for you.

I think the balloons are beautiful and are quite welcome here in Albuquerque.

[yongamerica]

The balloon pilot was landing. A change in a little breeze, or a small up draft or down draft is all it takes to throw a balloon landing way off.

[legacyabq]

Jeeze, why werent they flying higher?? Theres enough gas to get waaaay up there, theres no need to land near powerlines..
Maybe there was a *********** or something.
To the person who said REGULATE these things,
why dont you shut up and go hide in your hole if youre so afraid of life, the erst of us DONT WANT OR NEED YOUR INCESSANT NEED TO REGULATE EVERYTHING

OK??

[nwarky1]

You can''t regulate everything. If you do you get into messing with the gene pool, and all kinds of weird things begin to happen.... It''s called survival of the fittest or something like that.... The ones that try to fly end up with bad things happening to them sometimes, and that''s life. Power lines are put there with this very thing in mind....

[cdfoxtrot4]

"Hot Air Balloon Crashes In Flames; 1 Dead". Silly me. I saw the caption and thought this was about Miss Troopergate.

[barbaraf4]

"Sorry to hear that somebody was killed doing what they loved doing." Posted by slim1h2o
~~~~~~~~~
We should all be so lucky to die doing something we love doing.

[nothappyatall]

BZZZZZZTTTTT!!!!!!!!

[slim1h2o]

Sorry to hear that somebody was killed doing what they loved doing.,,,But...

So much for the ,,"up, up up and away in my beautiful, my beautiful ballooooooon.....