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

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (AP) — A drone present and a flawless mass ascension ended Sunday’s final day of the 52nd Albuquerque Worldwide Balloon Fiesta. However it wasn’t all easy crusing for this yr’s sizzling air balloon occasion.

One balloon partially caught fireplace Saturday after hitting energy traces and touchdown at a building web site in northwest Albuquerque. Fiesta officers say no person was injured and the hearth was shortly 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 had been unhurt within the crash and had been capable of land safely, however the radio station was off the air till Saturday.

One individual reportedly suffered a head harm Wednesday when a balloon struck a big tree whereas attempting to land at a golf course. The gondola was caught 25 toes (7.6 meters) above floor and the opposite two folks aboard the balloon needed to be rescued.

On Tuesday, almost 13,000 clients had been with out energy for nearly an hour after a balloon ran into an influence line in Albuquerque.

“It considerations us when balloon flights don’t go as deliberate,” Fiesta spokesman Tom Garrity mentioned in an announcement. ”Protected flights are our major objective, so any accident is simply too many.”

The nine-day fiesta is among the world’s most photographed occasions, drawing a whole bunch of hundreds of spectators every fall to New Mexico to see the greater than 100 balloons in vibrant colours and particular shapes.