During the 52nd annual Albuquerque International Balloon Fiesta in New Mexico, a hot air balloon incident occurred when the balloon struck a radio tower, causing it to plummet to the ground and briefly catch fire. The balloon was carrying three people at the time of the accident, which took place around 8:45 a.m. local time on Friday.
The festival, known for filling the sky with over 500 colorful balloons, witnessed the unfortunate collision as captured on video by Curt Fargo. The impact caused the radio tower to crumble immediately upon contact, disrupting the transmission of signals to the local radio station.
Fortunately, no injuries were reported from the incident, as confirmed by the Bernalillo County Sheriff’s Office. The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has initiated an investigation into the matter to determine the cause of the crash.
This was not the first time the radio tower had been involved in a hot air balloon accident. In 2004, a similar incident occurred when the KKOB tower was struck by a Smokey Bear Balloon, resulting in the balloon becoming entangled on the tower and endangering the lives of the pilot and two young passengers onboard.
The Albuquerque International Balloon Fiesta concluded on Sunday, with another balloon mishap occurring on Saturday when a balloon briefly caught fire after hitting power lines before safely landing in northwest Albuquerque. Fortunately, there were no injuries reported in this incident as well.
