Hot Air Balloon Mishap Shows Pigs Can’t Fly
The pilot of a pig-shaped hot air balloon made an emergency landing.
— -- It’s 2015 and pigs still can’t fly.
A hot air balloon in the shape of a pink piggy bank crashed this morning in Provo, Utah.
The balloon, sponsored by Bank of American Fork at America’s Freedom Festival, got hit by another balloon’s basket and the top of the pig had a 6- to 8-foot hole torn in the nylon, festival safety officer Curt Bramble told ABC News today.
“The pilot immediately took the appropriate steps and had the burner going to safely make an emergency landing,” he added, noting that part of the balloon landed in a tree, missing the power lines a short distance away.
The pilot walked away from the crash landing with only minor burns, Bramble said.
“When the nylon fabric melts, it’ll drip little spots of the sticky residue. [The pilot] has a bandage on his cheek, but he’s going to be fine and back flying tomorrow and Saturday,” Bramble said.
Bank of American Fork has had a sponsored hot air balloon run by Balloon West since 1984 and spokesperson Christopher Liechty said this is the first, and hopefully last, incident.
“We’re going to take a look at the balloon and see if it’s reparable,” he told ABC News today. “Our pilot did a great job of bringing [the balloon] down without hurting anyone.”
The flying pig wasn’t the only spectacle in the sky -- Darth Vader, Yoda and Smokey the Bear also flew in the festival.