Hot air balloon hits power lines just after marriage proposal

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A picturesque marriage proposal in a hot air balloon turned out to be a truly shocking experience when the balloon crashed into power lines shortly after the bride-to-be said yes. Pilot Dallas Beall and the woman were treated for burns in Sellersburg, Indiana, around 8 pm at night. Major Chuck Adams with the Clark County, Indiana sheriff’s office said after the man proposed, Beall tried to land the balloon on a patch of ground overgrown with tall grass in Sellersburg. The woman said yes, but Beall struggled to successfully land the bright yellow balloon. Beall boosted the balloon to try and land elsewhere, but the basket brushed against high-tension power lines, giving the pilot an electric shock and knocking him unconscious, according to reports. The shock caused him to fall into the bride-to-be, giving her a shock as well. The groom-to-be performed CPR on the pilot, reportedly reviving him, until medics arrived. The newly engaged couple was not identified to the public. They were treated for burns at the scene, and the pilot and future bride were transported to local hospitals. Their injuries were not life-threatening, according to local media sources. Tony Saxton, a pilot at a hot air balloon service, said sometimes accidents like this are unavoidable. “Wind conditions can change at a moment’s notice without warning, and that’s oftentimes when power-line accidents occur,” Saxton told msnbc.com. “I always teach my students to fly over them and land on the other side, if at all possible.” Saxton, who trains people to fly balloons in north eastern Pennsylvania, said if a power line strike is imminent, he trains pilots to deflate the hot air balloon by “ripping out” the top panel, done by pulling a ripcord because “it’s safer to have a basket as close to the ground as possible so people can just jump out.”

1 COMMENT

  1. Really shocking news that was! One thing i just want to say that over the few years there are lots of hot air balloons accidents happened because of unawareness of the pilot and as a result lots people have lost their life. So i will recommend that to ride in a hot air balloon is too much risky and that is why we should have sufficient skill and knowledge as well. Thanks

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