A hot air balloon landed on top of a radio tower west of Balloon Fiesta Park Friday morning.
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — A hot air balloon descended atop a radio tower west of Balloon Fiesta Park Friday morning.
According to the Federal Aviation Administration, there were three people on board the plane, including the pilot. They were able to land safely after colliding with the tower.
Balloon Fiesta told KOB 4 that the balloon hit one of the wires attached to the tower, causing it to collapse.
William Harris with Bernalillo County Fire and Rescue told us they are reviewing the video to find out exactly what happened.
PNM cut power to the tower, which collapsed. But while it was in operation, residents within a 1,000-foot radius had to be evacuated.
When he arrived on the scene, Harris told us he was thinking about the worst-case scenario. But he was happy to see that no one needed a large-scale rescue.
“All things considered, I think we were very fortunate the way it ended up today. There’s a collapse with a very significant monetary value, a significant monetary value of this tower. But people had no loss of life and no injuries,” Harris said.
Balloon Fiesta representatives told us that balloon number 28 was the one that crashed, and that it belonged to Foolish Pleasure Hot Air Balloon Flights from Tuscon, Arizona. It’s called Blue Moon, and it’s registered under the name Dan Ewer. At the moment, we don’t know if he’s the one piloting the balloon.
We reached out to their office but did not hear back. We also spoke to a nearby neighbor who did not hear the tower crash but heard all the emergency vehicles responding.
“I thought something bad had happened. I actually thought it was a fire at first, because, you know, it was dry, and the balloons were breaking. So I thought maybe something had caught fire with a power line or something. So I didn’t “I didn’t really realize it was the tower, and you know, they hit the tower again,” said Annette Santiago Kitts, who lives near where the balloon crashed.
The New Mexico State Police, Federal Aviation Administration and NTSB are investigating. The FAA says the agency typically publishes an initial report the next business day.
The KKOB Tower has been restored.
A hot air balloon landed on top of a radio tower west of Balloon Fiesta Park Friday morning.
For related stories: Monica Logroño
