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Paul Kalich | profile | all galleries >> Galleries >> Albuquerque Balloon Fiesta Accident Monday Oct 5 2009 tree view | thumbnails | slideshow

Albuquerque Balloon Fiesta Accident Monday Oct 5 2009

There was a serious accident in Albuquerque this morning when a Balloon Team Participating in a Texas Hold-Em and X Bean Bag throw hit a VIP-Sponsorship Tent Roof on her Decent and her passenger was ejected about 25 ft above the ground. The Pilot then accended rapidly, after loosing almost 200 lbs of ballast, to about 300 ft where she pulled her crown vent which caused her to decend in a matter of seconds. The passenger who was ejected had a hip injury while the pilot suffered no major injuries even though she decended almost at a freefall rate from that height. The Yellow Red and Blue Balloon that is behind her in several of the shots did not accend by much so it gives you a perspective of how far she fell- one shot is cropped in a bit so that you can see what the pilot is doing- all of the decent shots were taken from the exact same position over just a few seconds. The shots after she hard landed show other balloonists passing overhead and the people who rushed over to help her once they realized what was happening.
Crowd Going to Help Man Who Fell out of Basket when it hit the top of this structure
Crowd Going to Help Man Who Fell out of Basket when it hit the top of this structure
Balloon being deflated by the pilot and dropping aproximately 250 ft in a few seconds
Balloon being deflated by the pilot and dropping aproximately 250 ft in a few seconds
Pilot still trying to control her decent
Pilot still trying to control her decent
Balloon dropping fast
Balloon dropping fast
These 4 shots were taken less than 2 seconds apart
These 4 shots were taken less than 2 seconds apart
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hard landing
hard landing
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Balloonists over the accident scene
Balloonists over the accident scene
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The lower balloon came within 50 ft of the buildings roof
The lower balloon came within 50 ft of the buildings roof
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All sorts of help went out to the pilot
All sorts of help went out to the pilot
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People around the Pilot
People around the Pilot
Crowd watching as EMS take the man away on a gurney,
Crowd watching as EMS take the man away on a gurney,
Man had just passed through the tent to the ambulance on the road in front-he was lucky missing tables and the fences
Man had just passed through the tent to the ambulance on the road in front-he was lucky missing tables and the fences
Ambulance getting ready to depart with the injured man
Ambulance getting ready to depart with the injured man
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