Hot air balloon landing goes wrong when pilot snags gutter, tears hole in balloon’s side

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (KKTV/Gray News) - A hot air balloon in Colorado was caught on video scraping the ground near some homes with a hole in its side after a landing attempt gone wrong.

Leslie Medina caught the Saturday morning incident on camera. It took place during Colorado Springs’ Labor Day Lift Off, an annual hot air balloon festival in the city.

Medina told KKTV she thought the balloonist was closer than he should be to the ground before the incident but believed he was just trying to “show off” for those who had gathered outside to watch.

“I noticed that it was getting extremely closer to the apartment buildings, and I was just like, ‘Oh, OK, seems a little unusual,’” Medina said. “‘Maybe he just wanted to give us a closer look.’”

The balloon got even lower, moments before tapping the ground just feet away from both Medina and a nearby apartment building. Video shows a tear in the side of the balloon.

“Next thing you know, all I see was this big shadow coming down so fast... I wasn’t realizing how fast these hot air balloons go down, so I just got my dog and we ran to safety,” Medina said. “Thank God no one got hurt, and from what I’ve known, everybody made it home.”

Event organizers confirmed no one was injured and no property was damaged. They say the pilot reported an error when trying to land, saying he snagged a sharp point on a gutter on a nearby home.

The pilot was able to land safely despite the tear in the balloon. He was able to maintain control of the balloon because of where the tear occurred, according to event organizers.

Medina says others have told her they would have hopped in the balloon’s basket for a free ride, but she had a different reaction.

“After seeing this, I think I’ll stay right on the ground,” she said.

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