Posted on 10/08/2007 10:53:49 AM PDT by NormsRevenge
Update
The woman is from California.
Abner, I’m Curious ,, are balloonists required to have any safety straps attached while in the basket? This seems freakish and most unfortunate , to say the least..
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California woman killed in balloon crash during New Mexico fiesta
http://www.bakersfield.com/119/story/254885.html
A California woman participating in the city’s annual balloon festival fell from the tipped basket of a hot air balloon Monday, and plunged 60 to 70 feet to her death, state police said.
State police spokesman Andrew Tingwall identified the victim, one of five people aboard the balloon’s gondola, as Rosemary Wooley Phillips, 60, of California. Tingwall did not know her hometown.
Before the basket tipped, a propane tank on the balloon ruptured and shot out the side of the basket, leaving a hole, Tingwall said. Investigators were trying to determine what caused the tank to rupture and whether that contributed to the tipping of the gondola, he said.
The balloon became stuck on a fiberoptic line about 8 a.m. MDT, and the pilot, Tom Reyes, 57, of Sandia Park threw a tether to a pickup truck on the ground to reel the balloon down and free it, Tingwall said.
However, when the tether broke, the balloon flew back up, the gondola tipped and the woman fell out, he said.
Emergency medical technicians tried to revive her in a dirt field where she fell but were unsuccessful, he said.
The balloon, meanwhile, flew across a road near Interstate 25 and crash landed, he said.
The balloon, flying in the 36th annual Albuquerque International Balloon Fiesta, also carried Sheryl Diaz, 60; Susan Simpson, 57; and Doris Currier, 52, all of California.
Tingwall had no information about any injuries to the others aboard.
The crash site is about three miles from the launch field for the nine-day ballooning fiesta, which takes place every October and draws hundreds of balloons. The fiesta features mass ascensions of balloons, events for special shapes balloons and competitions for pilots.
At the launch field, balloonists expressed condolences for the victim’s family.
“It puts a bit of a cloud over the fiesta,” said pilot Chris Hinde of Rugby, England, flying in Albuquerque for the 10th year. “People always ask if we should keep going. We made the decision not to fly today after we heard the news.”
There have been fatalities in previous years.
One woman was killed during the 1998 fiesta when a balloon plowed into two sets of power lines before plummeting about 30 feet to the ground at Kirtland Air Force Base on Albuquerque’s south side.
During the 1993 fiesta, two men were killed when their balloon hit power lines, severing the gondola, which plunged about 90 feet to the ground.
Two other men died during the 1990 fiesta when their balloon crashed into power lines and burst into flames.
Four people died and five were injured during the 1982 fiesta when propane tanks on a large balloon exploded.
But on balance, such fatalities are rare and balloonists generally don’t consider their sport to be dangerous.
“It’s no riskier than driving a car,” said pilot Anthony Haynes of Houston. “It’s a sad thing when it happens. But when you see a car accident, you don’t stop driving.”
I’ve attended many such gatherings - though not in Albq where my family lives - as a chaser for pilots who were friends.
Absolutley amazing how many idiots get to pilot balloons!
I helped crew that balloon this morning. We did dawn patrol and were the first balloon off. He flew longer today and came down between Los Lunas and Belen.
It was quite a surprise!
Yeah, I think even THEY were a bit surprised that they flew that far. The pilot is a VERY experienced guy from Germany. Even flies hydrogen balloons in Europe.
Very tragic about the woman who fell from the balloon this morning. We’d already launched and taken off to chase when it happened. Pretty much all of the balloons had launched and landed before we got back. From the sounds of it, though, it was a very freak accident.
For a moment or two it looked like he was going to come down in our field. Enough of the neighbors were out that we probably could have handled it.
Where he did come down, based on my eyeballing his path as he dissappeared behind the trees was a better bet. Larger and no power line.
Never seen one on this side of the freeway, near the Sandias, yes, but not here.
Truly a shame about the lady this AM.
The pilot has titanium tanks on-board, so he has a lot less weight to deal with.
From what they said, the balloon that had the problem was a local company that sells rides. Unfortunately, they’ll probably be out of business by next year because of a resulting lawsuit.
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My one and only balloon ride ended in a crash and I will NEVER ride in another balloon. I've had 3 surgeries as a result of the crash. One on my knee and two on my spine.
That's a good idea. I was almost thrown out of the basket when we crashed. A harness would keep people from getting thrown out.
After that, we usually watched them from our back yard.
Here's a shot from that yard, taken on October 7, 2005. It was kind of overcast that day, as you can see. Our yard faced southeast, and we were in Rivers Edge in Rio Rancho, so the park wasn't far away.
Here's a shot taken on the field just before a mass ascension. The crew is just "warming up."
And lastly, one reason why dogs are always barking at hot air balloons. This was also taken from my back yard. 
Alpo - LOL! There’s a couple times my dog’s been urgently barking, and I see nothing - then I hear the roar of the gas and realize there’s a balloon passing overhead! Now, if they have a Milk Bones one he’ll really go bonkers! Loved seeing the event in NM back in the ‘90s.
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