GA - Varmluftballonger blir stadig mer populære - Curt Lewis

Varmluftballonger har den svakhet at de er vanskelige å manøvrere, spesielt i horisontalplanet. Hvert år skjer det ulykker, enten in Albuequerque, i Kapadokia, i Serengeti, eller andre steder med masseturisme eller store konkurranser. Dette er altså en sport med innlagte spenningsmomenter. (red.)

Up, up and away: How safe is hot-air ballooning?

Two hot-air balloons crashed within five minutes in Melbourne's east on Monday morning. The 17 passengers involved were uninjured.

So why did it happen? And is hot-air ballooning safe?


The hot air balloon went into a back yard in Vermont South.

What happened on Monday morning?
Five balloons from two companies left Bundoora just after dawn, bound for fields near Moorabbin Airport in the city's south-east. About 90 minutes into the flight, a sudden wind change forced pilots to make "layover landings" in nearby fields.

What's a layover landing?
Layover landings occur after touchdown on about 10 per cent of hot-air balloon flights. It happens when the wind is strong enough to continue dragging the balloon and basket along the ground before the balloon deflates.

Kiff Saunders from Global Ballooning Australia said layover landings were a common practice in ballooning and all passengers were briefed on layover procedure before takeoff. Baskets are also padded to avoid injury. Mr Saunders said it was a "five- to 10-second exercise".

"Most people would say it's the best part of a flight," he said.

In Monday's incident, two of the balloons dragged the basket along the ground and neither had enough parkland for a smooth landing. One group ran into an orchard in Wantirna South; the other ran into someone's backyard in Vermont South.