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Dave
Campbell, director of the Balloon Festival, said that both the pilot
and his one passenger climbed out of the basket when it came down and
made first contact with the ground. As soon as the pilot
and passenger were out of the basket, the balloon — now lighter without
a payload — went aloft again, tangling in power lines several times
before twisting for a final landing across Lincoln Parkway; in front
of Greyhound Lube.
The crowd
was excited, stunned and horrified as they watched this aerial ballet
and the demise of a favorite balloon.
A bright flash was seen as the balloon first made contact with
the wires. Brown smoke
poured from the envelope. Another
explosion was heard as a gaping hole appeared in the side of the
balloon. The balloon went
skyward again before it finally settled to the ground.
Emergency crews were said to have arrived just as the basket
touched down.
(To top of second
column in this article)
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Fellow
balloonist Dave Reineke had just started to take off in his balloon
when he saw that “Big Red” was having trouble. Reineke said,
"He was doing a perfect rapid climb, and then started to
fall."
Utility
crews turned off power to Lincoln’s west side for a time on the
high-tension lines while mooring lines were untangled from the wires.
Campbell
went on to explain how proud he was of the volunteers and emergency
personnel for the response. "We have planned and practiced
for years in case anything like this would ever happen. They responded
in two minutes."
FAA
investigators have impounded the craft and they will attempt to
make a determination of what went wrong. Pilot error is suspected.
Campbell
finally said, "I'm so proud of all the workers."
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So
say veteran balloonists, Jerry and Mary Ann Garcia.
The Garcias have been ballooning nearly 20 years.
This is their sixth year in Lincoln.
They have the same people wanting to crew for them year after
year. Their
sponsor, Lincoln Iron and Metal, wants them to keep coming back.
After spending some time with them it is perfectly
understandable why.
At
home in Albuquerque, the Garcias fly every weekend. Their 7-year-old
black Labrador, Dusty, often goes up with Jerry when he is the only
person flying. Wife Mary Ann loves the chase. Figuring out where to be ready and waiting can be quite a
trick. This is what Mary
Ann loves figuring out, and she has learned all the tricks.
“If there are other balloons out, you can learn to read the
balloons by observing what directions they are moving at certain
heights. It takes some practice," she says, "but I’ve
become pretty good at knowing just where he’ll land.”
Where
they fly at home they have a unique phenomenon not found on the
plains. There is a valley
with box airflow. At
upper heights winds flow in one direction, and at lower heights the
winds move in the reverse direction. Jerry may be heading in and
change his elevation and go back out. So, Mary Ann just sits and waits
until she knows Jerry is coming all the way in before maneuvering for
position.
They
attend and compete in many festivals throughout the year. Festivals
draw balloonists in a number different ways.
They offer awards and trophies, cash prizes, and sometimes even
merchandise. Most find
ways for balloonists to accumulate points — something like dropping
numbered beanbags on a target. A
couple of the more unique competitions the Garcias have attended
offered keys to a new car to be found in one of several helium-filled
balloons, or if you could just grab the keys to a new home in a mock
cardboard chimney. While Jerry likes to win competitions — “He will do all he can to win”
— his wife, Mary Ann,
respectfully admires his ability to not care if he doesn’t win.
Jerry can rattle off quite a number of first places he’s taken in
competitions.
The
Garcias' favorite aspect of hot air ballooning is donating their
services. They regularly
donate rides to be auctioned off at fundraisers for many causes.
From local sports teams support to charity benefits, they have
provided rides as part of Make-a-Wish Foundation, United Way and other
charitable causes. They
have also taken a number of special people up, including Belarussian
kids, World War I naval officers and their wives, and many others.
The
Garcias have Lincoln ties. Born and raised here, Mary Ann (Ellis) went to Northwest
School and is the sister of Diane Turner. When asked what her favorite
memories of Lincoln are, she responds easily, “I miss Christmas
here. It just isn’t the
same in Albuquerque. ” She
also misses the seasons changing.
The Garcias have been
coming to the Lincoln festival about six years now.
Smiling, Mary Ann recalls, “The most memorable experience
coming to the Lincoln festival was the year the winds took Jerry over
LDC. Jerry had a short
landing for a passenger exchange there and all the kids came pouring
out to see the balloon. They
were so excited.”
(To
top of second column in this article)
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During
the week Mary Ann works as a legal aid while Jerry works with
computers, setting up and maintaining extensive networking systems for
GE Card Services. Both
work in Albuquerque. They schedule their vacations to travel to the
longer distance festivals, sticking mostly to the Southwest, with
Lincoln being their farthest destination.
They usually travel with some good friends from Albuquerque.
Some
balloon memories shared by the Garcia’s:
The
most beautiful competition they attend occurs in the bluffs of Utah.
The balloons are gracefully propelled by air currents around
red, spiky peaks and mountainous escarpments.
“It is just stunning,” recounts Mary Ann.
The
most challenging has been a flight in below 20-degree temperatures.
Heat tapes are necessary to keep the propane heater warm enough
to ignite. Beyond that, Jerry recalls being a little nervous as his
hands stiffened from using the cold bare metal propane handles.
The
most startling experience was the flight Jerry was on with a youngster
in the balloon when a freak rain occurred. They heard the ping and sizzle noise created by raindrops
hitting the taut, hot fabric and echoing in the balloon. “That’s not a noise a balloonist is familiar with,"
Jerry recounts. “Balloonists
generally don’t fly in the rain. It
was just this one lonely cloud let loose of some rain right over us.” They couldn’t even see the raindrops or the cloud as the
balloon canopy blocked it for quite some distance outward.
The
most humorous experience was the time they landed almost at dark, just
over a ridge, so that the chase car couldn’t see where they were.
They were mistaken for ceremonial dancers as they waved their
flashlights atop the hill for over an hour.
Thursday
evening the Garcias played host to two first-time riders, LDN’s
managing editor Jan Youngquist and a Carroll Catholic fifth grader,
Kyle Brown.
Brown and Youngquist both enjoyed the beautiful evening aerial
view of Lincoln.
While riding they saw deer, deer trails, several blue heron, a
large turtle on a Kickapoo Creek sand bar, and a blue haze-tinted
landscape for miles and miles.
Their dream-like ride was concluded by a quintessential soft
landing on the lawn of the Jim Phelan farm just west of Route 121.
“It
was just gorgeous.
I couldn’t believe how Elkhart Hill stands out in the
landscape,” Youngquist marveled.
Later she was treated to the traditional first-time balloon
ride champagne toast.
[LDN]
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