5 die in hot air balloon crash in New Mexico's largest city

[Omaha Steve]

Source: AP

By FELICIA FONSECA

Five people died after a hot air balloon they were riding in hit power lines in New Mexico’s largest city and the gondola crashed to the ground, police said Saturday.

The crash happened around 7 a.m. on Albuquerque’s west side, police spokesman Gilbert Gallegos said. No identities have been released but fire officials said three men, including the pilot, and two females died.

Four of them were pronounced dead at the scene, and the fifth person died after being taken to the hospital in critical condition, Gallegos said.

The multi-colored balloon skirted the top of the power lines, sending at least one dangling and knocking out power to more than 13,000 homes, Gallegos said.



Albuquerque Fire Rescue crews work on victims of the fatal balloon crash at Unser and Central SW in Albuquerque, N.M., on Saturday, June 26, 2021. Multiple people were killed in the crash. (Adolphe Pierre-Louis/The Albuquerque Journal via AP)


Read more: https://apnews.com/article/nm-state-wire-new-mexico-7b14c680f47209bc6ebf84e81d190596

[drray23]

1. that's tragic. I used to live there.

I also participated at the balloon festival. I have a friend who has a balloon. The headline is a bit odd. Why did not they just say Albuquerque instead of New Mexico largest city ? It's not a damm pop quiz.

[Omaha Steve]

2. Maybe the writer couldn't spell it?

[flor-de-jasmim]

3. That was my thought, as well. eom

[HUAJIAO]

11. SOP for getting people to click on something...

"Chicago Bulls star out for season!"

[abqtommy]

4. I do live here and this is very sad.

[RestoreAmerica2020]

16. Hola vecino.Son told me about crash earlier today--que thriste, how very sad.

Paz

[Mysterian]

5. Vast areas of desert is where you fly a hot air balloon, not over a city

That being said, I got a ride in a balloon over Las Cruces in 1985.

[madamesilverspurs]

6. Lived there

way back when the balloon races launched from the fairgrounds in the middle of town. Our place was a few blocks south of there, and one of the balloons sprung a leak and nearly landed on our flat roof. The pilot, God bless him, was able to maintain enough control to get to the schoolyard in the next block, where he landed safely. I can't help imagining the horror experienced by the passengers and those on the ground who witnessed this present accident.


.

[marybourg]

7. When I lived there, a basket (or gondola) swung through and shattered a neighbor's

sliding glass door. Fortunately she was not near the door. I seem to remember a power line accident like this when I lived there in the 80’s also. The chase trucks were the real every day hazards, though.

[Wingus Dingus]

8. Hot air balloon rides--

long ago added to the list of things I will never do. They just don't seem to have reliable control of those things.

[Warpy]

10. Air currents here in decent weather are predictable and accidents are rare

I have to wonder if a mechanical failure contributed to this one. Having a gondola separate and crash is very rare. This was also the largest loss of life in a single accident, ever. Hot air ballooning is generally a lot safer than water sports were back east.

My power blinked when it happened but didn't go off. Other people weren't so lucky.

It's just so terribly sad for the family and the other local balloonists, they all seem to know each other.

[Wingus Dingus]

15. There was an accident a few years ago in Texas that was similarly

awful--the passengers' options were: burn up in the fiery gondola and die, or get electrocuted in the gondola and die, or jump out and die. I hear you, that incidents are pretty rare, but when they happen they're pretty catastrophic it seems.

[localroger]

9. In 1989 my wife and I got a free balloon ride

This was the first year the National Hot Air Balloon Championship was held in Baton Rouge, LA. We were amateur "journalists" and had signed in with the press pool people but didn't expect to score a ride, but after the accident where a balloon fell out of the sky a lot of the real journalists got cold feet and a spot opened up for us, as it happened on the Budweiser promotional balloon. We were accompanied by the pilot and a local newspaper reporter and his daughter -- the reporter had stepped in like us late and didn't even know how to use his own camera. The trip lasted several hours and was incredibly peaceful and beautiful. The balloon was just there to be seen, not compete in the race, so we landed a couple of times to meet the locals and at one point so I could hike off and take a ground-based pic of the balloon.

Ballooning is an odd mix of safety and lack of control. There's no wind because you are moving with the wind, but you have no control over which direction the wind takes you. It's not violent or forceful like all forms of heavier than air flying. Of course you have to maintain your craft, and we didn't have any worries about that because the Budweiser team was obviously well funded. I found it amusing that one of the runners who helped pack up the balloon when we were done said she was afraid of heights and had never flown herself. And of course they had beer in the pickup vehicle as we returned to the fairground to get our vehicle and go home.

A very special experience, which anyone should take if they have an opportunity. You have to be either pretty green or pretty stupid to die in a balloon accident. And it's not like anything else you will ever do.

[keopeli]

12. I live in ABQ. It's a particularly well suited spot for hot air balloons, hence the famous Balloon

Balloon Fiesta every October. An unusual air current exists because of the Sandia Mountain on the East side of the city. It's called a box wind. It let's you go up and across the city, then a downdraft lowers you and an alternate current carries you back near your starting point. I see balloons in the air most every morning, especially in the Spring and Fall when the temperature is perfect.

Unfortunately, this accident is the most common sort for air balloons. Pilots have only a degree of control. If you get too low over the city, you risk hitting a power line which can cause the balloon to crash or catch fire. This type of accident happens on a regular basis. In some cases, no one dies. In most, people are hurt badly but not often killed because you're already close to the ground. In rare cases, deaths occur. This accident caused five deaths, which is the highest number from a single crash of this sort ever in our area.

The balloon crashed just a quarter-mile from the Middle School where I teach (we're on summer break). The deaths were likely tourists and the pilot. The chase car (which is a dangerous necessity for hot air balloons) must have been devastated as they watched this occur in front of their eyes. This is indeed a great tragedy and will be remembered and cited for a long time as a warning to others. Apart from power line accidents, there is seldom ever a life-threatening situation in a hot air balloon. One poster suggested possible mechanical failure, which is a real possibility. You generally have more control of altitude, but sudden changes in wind conditions and atmospheric anomalies can be the cause as well.

I pray for the families, witnesses, and the team. I hope that none of my students had to witness this incident.

[LeftInTX]

13. They had a ballon fest once in San Antonio (within the city limits)

Good gosh, this place is loaded with power lines. I'm surprised there was not an accident.

[Tree Lady]

14. Interesting this comes up now

I am going on my first balloon ride next Saturday in Sonoma Valley north of Santa Rosa. I have always wanted to go and my daughter is taking a friend, so we invited my other daughter and cousin so a bunch of us.

Originally we were going beginning of May but they canceled because of wind. This company is very careful and only goes up if conditions are right been doing balloon rides there since the 80's.

I live out of state why we didn't rebook sooner.

[DemocraticPatriot]

17. I have long dreamed of making a marriage proposal in a hot-air balloon ride.

Finding the right woman has been the sticking point... lol