Not exactly smooth sailing at the 52nd Albuquerque balloon fiesta after 4 incidents

[October 14, 2024]  ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (AP) — A drone show and a flawless mass ascension ended Sunday’s last day of the 52nd Albuquerque International Balloon Fiesta. But it wasn’t all smooth sailing for this year’s hot air balloon event. 

Balloons fly during the Albuquerque International Balloon Fiesta in Albuquerque, N.M., on Tuesday, Oct. 8, 2024.(Chancey Bush/The Albuquerque Journal via AP)

One balloon partially caught fire Saturday after hitting power lines and landing at a construction site in northwest Albuquerque. Fiesta officials say nobody was injured and the fire was quickly extinguished.

On Friday, a balloon pilot with two passengers aboard struck a radio tower and knocked it down west of Balloon Fiesta Park.

It was the second time in 20 years that a balloon had come into contact with that tower.

The pilot and passengers were uninjured in the crash and were able to land safely, but the radio station was off the air until Saturday.

One person reportedly suffered a head injury Wednesday when a balloon struck a large tree while trying to land at a golf course. The gondola was stuck 25 feet (7.6 meters) above ground and the other two people aboard the balloon had to be rescued.

On Tuesday, nearly 13,000 customers were without power for almost an hour after a balloon bumped into a power line in Albuquerque.

“It concerns us when balloon flights don’t go as planned,” Fiesta spokesman Tom Garrity said in a statement. ”Safe flights are our primary goal, so any accident is too many.”

The nine-day fiesta is one of the world’s most photographed events, drawing hundreds of thousands of spectators each fall to New Mexico to see the more than 100 balloons in bright colors and special shapes.

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