Advertisement

Canadian couples in Arizona hot air balloon accident

The couples credit the pilot with performing the emergency landing so no one got hurt

Two Canadian couples didn't have the landing they were expecting during a hot air balloon ride in the Arizona sky.

The balloon they were in had to make an emergency landing outside of Scottsdale, Arizona Tuesday when the wind picked up. The basket bounced three times and tumbled on the field as the balloon was quickly deflating.

According to NBC, an unexpected wind gust of about 45 km/h forced the pilot to make the emergency landing. On impact with the ground, the strong wind dragged the balloon and basket about half a kilometre.

[ More Daily Buzz: Vending machine has people bowing, pressing buttons for chips ]

Luckily, the four tourists plus the pilot all walked away from the crash without injury.

The KTVK news helicopter was heading home for the morning when the crew spotted the balloon just as it was about to go down.

While it may look like a scary landing, the pilot told 3TV it was a textbook high-wind landing.

[ More Daily Buzz: Story of drunk Saanich, B.C. chip thieves making rounds in U.S. media ]

"Nobody's hurt at all," said Ross Kochen from Alberta to 3TV. The trip was his first time in a hot air balloon and a surprise he found out about Tuesday morning. "I'm probably going to need a cold beer sooner than later I guess."

Kochen added the pilot knew exactly what to do and how to handle it and that is probably why no one got hurt.

Both Kochen and his wife said they would definitely go hot air ballooning again.