Michigan balloonist survives crash at S.C. event

[September 02, 2008]  ANDERSON, S.C. (AP) -- Officials say a Michigan man survived a hot-air balloon crash in South Carolina when the balloon's basket got caught in a tree about 10 feet above the ground.

Officials say pilot Chuck Walz of Munith, Mich., broke his leg and pelvis Sunday morning in a crash at a balloon festival in northwest South Carolina.

Anderson Fire Chief Jack Abraham says Walz's balloon may have been 9,000 feet in the air when it deflated. The fire chief says the balloon's basket was skewered by a tree branch 10 feet from the ground and stopped the fall.

Walz fell from the basket to the ground. He was conscious when rescuers arrived.

Federal aviation officials are investigating.

[Associated Press]

Copyright 2008 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.