A HOT-AIR balloon which got into difficulty near pylon wires at Stockton-on-the-Forest, York, bounced 20 feet into the air when it was forced to make a hard landing.
A report from the Air Accidents Investigation Branch revealed that a drop in wind prevented the balloon from escaping the wires and stopped the 36-year-old pilot from making his intended landing in a stubble field on August 10.
The balloon, which was carrying 12 passengers on a pleasure flight from York to Stockton-on-the-Forest, was drifting towards the pylon wires in a field next to the landing spot. The pilot then decided to change where the craft would touch down.
The report says that when the balloon was just 50 feet above the pylons, the wind dropped and the balloon became stationary.
It reveals that on a number of occasions the pilot climbed to try to get away from the pylons but the wind kept taking the balloon towards the wires.
Once clear of the wires, the balloon was travelling down at about 300 feet a minute.
One passenger broke an ankle in the landing.
The investigators cleared the pilot of any fault in his handling of the situation.
Updated: 10:40 Monday, October 13, 2003
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