In a video shared on TikTok, a man showed off his first hot air balloon ride that ended in a crash landing.
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At least he was confident they can hang on to the basket. That always helps.
Stay On!!! 🤣 LMAO! I am out of that basket..
see that flash! lol
As someone who has worked with balloons for nearly a year now, this was not as bad as it seems. High winds often force balloons to perform what’s called a ‘tip over’ landing in which the basket leans or tips over. The pilot was was smart to tell everyone to get ready and stay inside, as exiting the basket would send everyone else back into the air due to loss of weight for balance. Overall it was a pretty typical example of a fast landing, minus scraping through some bushes and maybe a rock or two. In some places in the world with faster winds (not California) nearly all landings are like this. The calmness and confidence of a pilot makes a scary landing a typical one!
I had been a commercial balloon for years flying in various places around the country, this might look scary but is typical of a high wind landing. If passengers are briefed as what to do and what to expect it is nothing more than “exciting”. I think however this pilot was a bit to intense.