Australia: Hot Air Balloon Makes Crash Landing On Rooftops In Melbourne
Passengers had a harrowing experience on a hot air balloon trip after it crash landed on an apartment rooftop in Australia.
Passengers had a harrowing experience on a hot air balloon trip after it crash landed on an apartment rooftop in Australia.
The balloon was on its maiden flight with 13 people onboard on Wednesday morning over Elwood, Melbourne, when it crashed.
ABC News
Emergency services were called to the scene at about 7.20 am local time to find a balloon draped over two rooftops and the basket in the yard and car park, the BBC News reported.
No one was injured.
Karen Marriage, who was one of the passengers, onboard, told ABC Radio she was on board with her family for her daughter¡¯s birthday, and the dramatic landing saw the basket bump several buildings on its way down.
"He missed the powerlines, he missed the cars, some big elm trees that [were] buffeted at our fall, so we didn¡¯t come down too aggressively, although it was, you know, quite a thud," she told the outlet.
"But nobody was hurt, he was incredibly calm. He did an amazing job, really," she added.
Pilot and director of Liberty Balloon Flights Nick Brau confirmed one of the valves in the top of the balloon malfunctioned.
"What caused the malfunction, I don¡¯t know, we need to investigate that," he said. Everything was fine when we took off, Brau told ABC News.
He said the incident was ¡°a bit embarrassing¡±.
ABC News
¡°The valve that releases hot air from the top, which we use to manoeuvre the balloon, didn¡¯t seal properly,¡± Brau told 3AW.
¡°So I was losing a lot of heat and it was difficult to keep the balloon up in the air so that¡¯s why I was flying low and I was aiming for the beach but we didn¡¯t make it for about 200 metres," he added.
Emergency services, including firefighters, police and paramedics arrived at the scene to find the deflated balloon draped over two rooftops in Tiuna Grove.
Fortunately, no one was injured.
The Australian Transport Safety Bureau is investigating what happened by taking witness accounts and is examining the balloon for any problems.
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