One Killed In Hot-Air Balloon Crash
Basket Caught On Fire At Fiesta In Albuquerque
POSTED: 11:12 am EDT October 10,
2008
UPDATED: 4:56 pm EDT October 10,
2008
Email
Print
BOSTON -- One person was killed Friday when a hot-air balloon crashed during an annual hot-air balloon fiesta in New Mexico.A pilot and a passenger were aboard the Wings of Wind balloon when the basket caught fire, separated from the balloon and crashed in Albuquerque at the city's International Balloon Fiesta.
One Killed In Hot-Air Balloon CrashSteve Lachenzro, 49, of Butler, Pa., was pronounced dead at the scene. The pilot, Keith Sproul, 49, of North Brunswick, N.J., is in critical condition. Originally, KOAT.com reported that the pilot was from Massachusetts.The pilot was trying to land the balloon on Highway 528, when it struck power lines, according to John Francis, of the Reo Rancho Fire Department. Propane tanks that were attached to the balloon later dropped to the ground. The balloon landed about 14 miles away on the San Felipe Indian reservation, Francis said.Ambulances and a New Mexico National Guard Blackhawk were sent to the scene of the crash. A witness told The Associated Press that he saw the basket in flames and things falling from it.The balloon featured an experimental tetrahedral design, according to Balloon Fiesta officials. It was not immediately known whether it was the pilot or the passenger who was killed.The three-sided balloon was shaped like an upside down triangle and was among hundreds participating in the fiesta, which is held every October.
One Killed In Hot-Air Balloon CrashSteve Lachenzro, 49, of Butler, Pa., was pronounced dead at the scene. The pilot, Keith Sproul, 49, of North Brunswick, N.J., is in critical condition. Originally, KOAT.com reported that the pilot was from Massachusetts.The pilot was trying to land the balloon on Highway 528, when it struck power lines, according to John Francis, of the Reo Rancho Fire Department. Propane tanks that were attached to the balloon later dropped to the ground. The balloon landed about 14 miles away on the San Felipe Indian reservation, Francis said.Ambulances and a New Mexico National Guard Blackhawk were sent to the scene of the crash. A witness told The Associated Press that he saw the basket in flames and things falling from it.The balloon featured an experimental tetrahedral design, according to Balloon Fiesta officials. It was not immediately known whether it was the pilot or the passenger who was killed.The three-sided balloon was shaped like an upside down triangle and was among hundreds participating in the fiesta, which is held every October. Copyright 2008 by TheBostonChannel.com. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
