Balloon crash survivor describes horrific jump

[superconnected]

Source: Komotv.com

A survivor of Friday's deadly balloon accident at a recreational vehicle park near the U.S border in Surrey, British Columbia, told her horrific tale from her hospital bed.

Diana Rutledge said she was on her first balloon ride when she knows something was terribly wrong.

"And all of a sudden, one of my friends, Leanna, started yelling 'Diana, we're on fire,'" she said.

Moments later, the balloon caught on fire and passengers began jumping to the ground.



Read more: http://www.komotv.com/news/9385181.html

[superconnected]

1. I didn't realize something like this could happen.

"After most of the passengers escaped, the balloon exploded in a fireball and shot up into the air. Shortly after, the burning balloon plunged to ground in the RV park, leaving a tail of thick black smoke in its wake.

Two passengers, a mother and daughter, remained on the balloon when the balloon plunged to the ground, engulfed in flames. They were pronounced dead at the scene. "

How horrific.

[redqueen]

2. Yikes.

That's dreadfully sad, about the mom & daughter. *sigh*


I have always wanted to go on a baloon ride. They're so expensive though.

[KatyaR]

3. It sounds as if one of the propane tanks ignited or exploded.

A balloon that size would have several large tanks, but it would just take one to bring the whole thing down. From the description, the explosion propelled the balloon up, and only when the flames reached the envelope (the "bag" or the "balloon" part), it quickly collapsed, falling to the ground. No envelope, no flying--the mechanics are very simple.

http://www.planoballoonfest.org/about_balloons.html

I've only flown once, but I have to say I was surprised at how secure I felt in the balloon--there was no swaying or feeling of height at all, and I'm not crazy about unsecured heights. The balloon I flew in was a commercial one similar to this one, and we had nine passengers and the pilot, and we had a great time. I've crewed many times when we had a balloon festival for several years here, and those pilots were some of the most thorough people I've ever met. You can cheat some when you fly a plane, but not when you're in a balloon, and these guys were sharp as a tack. I'd fly with pretty much any of them any day. I'd bet it was equipment failure, plain and simple.

This was a horrible, horrible accident and a sad day for the sport.