List of ballooning accidents

This is a list of ballooning accidents by date. It shows the number of fatalities associated with various accidents that involved manned balloons, such as Montgolfiere hot air balloons, Charliere gas balloons, or de-Roziere gas & hot-air hybrid balloons. This list does not include non-fatal accidents, or accidents involving other types of aerostat/lighter-than-air aircraft (i.e. dirigibles, blimps, zeppelins, airships, etc.).

List

Date	Incident	Location	Notes	Deaths	Injured
15 June 1785	Death of Jean-François Pilâtre de Rozier	Wimereux, France	Crashed during attempt to cross the English Channel. Balloon involved was a de-Roziere hybrid hydrogen-hot-air balloon and not a just a Montgolfiere plain hot air balloon.[1] No survivors. Considered one of the first fatal aviation accidents, possibly the first in recorded history.[2]	2	0
20 September 1851	Death of Joseph Tardini	Copenhagen, Denmark	After taking off from Christiansborg Palace in Copenhagen, the balloon went down in the water near Kalvebod Brygge, killing Italian balloonist Joseph Tardini who had performed dozens of flights in the past. His 11-year-old son and a woman survived.[3] The same balloon was again used in July 1852 when Swedish balloonist M. Sivertsen made a successful flight from the town of Christiana in Norway in front of an audience of 40,000 people.[4] Believed to be the first ballooning death in Scandinavia.	1	0
7. Juli 1819	Sophie Blanchard	Paris	Sophie Blanchard tried to start a firework in 300 m heigth above Paris. The ballon started burning and crashed down.	1	0
December 1853	Nimes balloon crash	Nimes, France	Balloonist M. Louis Deschamps was killed during his 120th flight from the Arena of Nîmes. Bad weather had already forced the mayor to call off a parachute performance. Deschamps was thrown from the basket and the balloon went down about half a mile further.[5]	1	0
October 1897	S. A. Andrée's Arctic Balloon Expedition of 1897	Kvitøya, Norway	Indirect deaths: All three balloon expedition members died of exposure months after their Charliere hydrogen balloon crashed	3	0
14 August 1908	Franco-British Exhibition balloon crash	London, England	A balloon owned by American balloonist Capt. Lovelace exploded at the Franco-British Exhibition in London, killing his 18-year-old secretary and a male employee.[6] Six others were injured, including a 47-year-old employee who died days later.[7]	3	5
6 June 1968	Danube Tower balloon crash	Danube Tower, Vienna, Austria	A gas balloon struck the Danube Tower, causing the basket to plummet to the ground, killing American balloonist Francis Shields, Austrian Post and Telegraph Management official Guntram Pammer, and Austria Press Agency journalist Dieter Kasper.[8][9]	3	0
21 September 1970	Free life balloon crash	North Atlantic Ocean	Balloon was attempting to cross the Atlantic Ocean when it was forced to ditch into the north Atlantic, about 600 miles southeast of Newfoundland.	3	0
21 October 1976	Charlotte balloon crash	Charlotte, North Carolina, United States	[10]	3	0
29 August 1978	Fishers balloon crash	Fishers, Indiana, United States	[11]	3	0
15 December 1979	Davie balloon crash	Davie, Florida, United States	Balloon collided with power lines, causing propane tanks to explode.[12]	4	0
20 April 1980	Hurricane balloon crash	Hurricane, West Virginia, United States	[13]	3	0
20 September 1980	Flims hot air balloon crash	Near Flims, Switzerland	[14]	3	0
15 August 1981	Barrington Hills hot air balloon crash	Barrington Hills, Illinois, United States	Balloon hit high voltage lines and burst into flames after which 5 people jumped and died; sole survivor suffered serious burns.[15]	5	1
1 July 1982	Valais hot air balloon crash	Kranzberg mountain, Valais, Switzerland	[16]	4	0
3 October 1982	Piedmont balloon crash	Piedmont, South Carolina, United States	[17]	3	0
3 October 1983	Albuquerque balloon crash	Albuquerque, New Mexico, United States	After a normal landing, liquid propane escaped, vaporized and ignited the gondola. The balloon began to rise and 4 remaining passengers fell or jumped, killing 3 of them.[18]	4	4
11 June 1989	Garner balloon crash	Garner, North Carolina United States	Balloon struck cables of a TV tower, causing it to plummet to the ground.[19]	3	0
13 August 1989	1989 Alice Springs hot air balloon crash	Near Alice Springs, Australia	Mid-air collision with another balloon[20]	13	0
6 October 1990	Groß-Schweinbarth balloon crash	Groß-Schweinbarth, Austria	Balloon struck trees while attempting to land, destroying the basket and causing those inside to fall to the ground. The balloonist and 3 passengers were killed. 3 other passengers were seriously injured.[21]	4	3
11 December 1990	Columbus balloon crash	Columbus, Ohio, United States	Balloon struck TV antenna after departing from a field.[22]	4	0
21 May 1993	Gnadendorf balloon crash	Gnadendorf, Austria	A fire broke out during a landing attempt, killing 5 passengers, including 2 children. The pilot and two other passengers were both seriously injured.[23]	5	3
8 August 1993	Woody Creek balloon crash	Woody Creek, Colorado, United States	Balloon struck power transmission line, causing basket to fall more than 100 feet.[24]	6	0
15 January 1994	Osterburken balloon crash	Osterburken, Germany	Balloon caught fire while attempting to land; a 45-year-old man jumped from a height of 8 meters and was injured, a 27-year-old woman jumped from a height of 25 meters and was killed, the 50-year-old balloonist was on fire and fell to his death from a height of 80 meters, and the woman's partner, a 29-year-old man, remained in the basket and died in the fire.[25]	3	1
19 October 1995	Christchurch balloon crash	Off the coast of Christchurch, New Zealand	Strong winds forced the balloon to ditch into the sea, killing 3 people. Others survived.[26]	3	0
18 October 1997	Kienberg hot air balloon crash	Kienberg, Germany	[27]	4	0
16 June 1999	Ibbenburen hot air balloon crash	Ibbenburen, Germany	Crashed after hitting a power line.[28]	4	0
26 August 2001	Verrens-Arvey hot air balloon crash	Verrens-Arvey, France	Exploded after hitting a power line.[29]	6	0
23 July 2004	Lucerne hot air balloon accident	Lucerne, Switzerland	Balloon struck buildings and a tree due to strong winds, injuring passengers and causing a woman to fall through an opening in the floor of the gondola. The balloon landed about 20 minutes later.[30]	1	10
20 April 2008	Death of Adelir Antônio de Carli	Off Brazil's Atlantic coast	Cluster ballooning attempt	1	0
14 October 2009	Yangshuo hot air balloon crash	Near Yangshuo, Guangxi, China	[31]	4	3
7 January 2012	2012 Carterton hot air balloon crash	Near Carterton, New Zealand	Entangled in power lines, resulting in fire[32]	11	0
23 August 2012	2012 Ljubljana Marshes hot air balloon crash	Municipality of Ig, Slovenia	Balloon caught in wind shear, crashed into trees, and caught fire[33]	6	26
26 February 2013	2013 Luxor hot air balloon crash	Luxor, Egypt	Fire in the basket caused by a leaking fuel line[34][35] Deadliest ballooning accident in aviation history.	19	2
6. August 2013	Accident in Montbovon	Montbovon	Ballon crashing down after contact with power lines.	1	4
9 May 2014	Ruther Glen balloon crash	Ruther Glen, Virginia, United States	Balloon struck power lines during landing, causing a fire.[36]	3	0
30 July 2016	2016 Lockhart hot air balloon crash	Maxwell, Texas, United States	Contact with power lines before crashing[37]	16	0

See also

• List of airship accidents

References

1. Geri Walton (15 June 2016). "The 18th Century's First Fatal Balloon Accident".
2. Associated Press (30 July 2016). "A look at the deadliest hot air balloon accidents". USA Today.
3. "Ballonhistorisk kronologi" [Balloon history chronology] (in Danish). Circus Balloon Club.
4. "Foreign Items". New York Times. 28 August 1852. Retrieved 1 August 2016.
5. "France". New York Times. 4 December 1853. Retrieved 1 August 2016.
6. "Balloon explodes; two dead, six hurt". New York Times. 15 August 1908. Retrieved 1 August 2016.
7. Cawsey, Richard (14 Apr 2016). "A list of fatal air accidents in Britain 1786 - 1916". Retrieved 3 August 2016.
8. "Investigation report (German)" (PDF). Federal Ministry for Transport, Innovation and Technology. Retrieved 1 August 2016.
9. Fatal ballooning accident 1968 Donauturm - Rare footage. YouTube.
10. "Investigation report". National Transportation Safety Board. Retrieved 30 July 2016.
11. "Investigation report". National Transportation Safety Board. Retrieved 30 July 2016.
12. "Investigation report". National Transportation Safety Board. Retrieved 30 July 2016.
13. "Investigation report". National Transportation Safety Board. Retrieved 30 July 2016.
14. "Investigation report (German)" (PDF). Swiss Transportation Safety Investigation Board. 21 May 1981. Retrieved 30 July 2016.
15. "FAA probes balloon crash that killed 5". Chicago Tribune. 17 August 1981. Retrieved 30 July 2016.
16. "Investigation report (German)" (PDF). Swiss Transportation Safety Investigation Board. 27 May 1983. Retrieved 30 July 2016.
17. "Investigation report". National Transportation Safety Board. 3 October 1983. Retrieved 30 July 2016.
18. "Investigation report". National Transportation Safety Board. 3 October 1982. Retrieved 30 July 2016.
19. "Investigation report". National Transportation Safety Board. 15 May 1992. Retrieved 30 July 2016.
20. "13 die when balloon drops from the sky". The Daily Record. Ellenburg, Washington. UPI. 14 August 1989. p. 8.
21. "Investigation report (German)" (PDF). Federal Ministry for Transport, Innovation and Technology. 15 October 1990. Retrieved 1 August 2016.
22. "Investigation report". National Transportation Safety Board. 17 March 1992. Retrieved 30 July 2016.
23. "Investigation report" (PDF). Federal Ministry for Transport, Innovation and Technology (in German). 21 May 1993. Retrieved 1 August 2016.
24. "Investigation report". National Transportation Safety Board. 1 August 1994. Retrieved 30 July 2016.
25. "Landemanöver mißglückte - drei Tote, ein Verletzter (German)". Berliner Zeitung. 17 January 1994. Retrieved 1 August 2016.
26. "New Brighton hot air balloon accident". Christchurch City Libraries. Retrieved 30 July 2016.
27. "Investigation report (German)" (PDF). German Federal Bureau of Aircraft Accident Investigation. October 1999. Retrieved 30 July 2016.
28. "Investigation report (German)" (PDF). German Federal Bureau of Aircraft Accident Investigation. June 2000. Retrieved 30 July 2016.
29. "Six Killed in Balloon Explosion". Los Angeles Times. 27 August 2001. Retrieved 30 July 2016.
30. "Investigation report" (PDF). Swiss Transportation Safety Investigation Board. 24 February 2005. Retrieved 30 July 2016.
31. "Balloon crash in China kills four". BBC News. 14 October 2009. Retrieved 30 July 2016.
32. "Final Report: Aviation inquiry 12-001 Hot-air balloon collision with power lines and in-flight fire, near Carterton, 7 January 2012". Transport Accident Investigation Commission. 31 October 2013. Retrieved 3 August 2016.
33. "Nesreča balona: Tragedijo naj bi povzročilo striženje vetra pri tleh, pilot brez veljavnega dovoljenja" [The Balloon Crash: The Tragedy Was Presumably Caused by Wind Shear near the Ground, the Pilot Did Not Have a Valid License] (in Slovenian). Dnevnik.si. 23 August 2012.
34. "Fuel leak caused Luxor balloon crash: Aviation ministry". Ahram Online. 7 Jan 2014. Retrieved 3 August 2016.
35. Kane, Patricia (6 June 2015). "Revealed: What REALLY happened to doomed hot air balloon flight that killed 19 passengers on dream trip which turned into carnage". The Scottish Mail on Sunday. Associated Newspapers Ltd. Retrieved 3 August 2016.
36. "Investigation report". National Transportation Safety Board. 6 May 2015. Retrieved 30 July 2016.
37. "Hot air balloon made contact with power line before crashing, investigators say". Associated Press. 31 July 2016. Retrieved 3 August 2016.