ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (KRQE) – Residents got quite a surprise when a large fish-shaped hot air balloon made a bumpy landing in northeast Albuquerque on Monday morning.
The gondola of the Mr. Fish balloon hit a tree before landing on a light pole in the residential area around Roma and Edith near the Lovelace Medical Center around 9:30 a.m. One witness to the event, Erika Teran, captured video of the landing.
The pilot of the balloon said he tried to land in on the field at Martineztown Park, but the strong wind gust made him lose control.
“Looking for a place to land, it’s a little bit windy and the direction to the wind came toward the city, and I tried to land many times, but there was no space because it was windy,” said Rubens Kalousdian.
Kalousdian said he’s been a balloon pilot for more than 30 years and has never had an incident like that. Luckily no was hurt and the balloon did not get damaged.
Unfortunately, that was not the case for another balloon crash that crashed in Rio Rancho. The deputy chief with Rio Rancho Rescue said it happened around 8:30 a.m. Monday and caused a small brush fire and extensive damage to the balloon. He said the two people that were flying the balloon were sent to the hospital but are expected to be okay.
Warning: Video contains strong language
