UPDATE: A hot-air balloon has caused a stir in Footscray after a “precautionary landing” in a Town Hall car park.
Ten people were on board the Fujitsu balloon when a change in wind conditions forced it to land outside Footscray Town Hall just after 7am on Monday.
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A frantic caller to radio station 3AW described panicked scenes as the pilot and his passengers gathered the deflating fabric.
But Picture This Ballooning chief executive Damian Crock said the landing was routine, and reports of a near-miss with power lines were untrue, although the pilot was careful to avoid a light pole.
“They simply landed in the car park,” he said.
Caller Mike sent us this pic of a hot air balloon that has landed in car park of Footscray Town Hall. pic.twitter.com/JQysXdk5x1
— 3AW Breakfast (@RossAndJohn) November 2, 2014
Mr Crock said the balloon took off on southerly winds from Fawkner Park in South Yarra about 6am.
It had been in the air for an hour and was between 1000 and 2000 feet high when the wind became light and variable. Mr Crock said that when the wind dropped, “the golden rule is to put the balloon down over the first safe landing spot”.
“It was zero chaos,” he said.
“It was completely under control.”
The pilot has more than 10 years’ experience flying hot-air balloons over Melbourne, Mr Crock said.
He said communication was maintained with ground crew at all times during the landing.
Melbourne was the first city in the world to run regular commercial passenger balloon flights in the 1980s.
There are now three companies operating about 150 days a year.
Mr Crock said a precautionary landing such as Monday’s was extremely rare.
The last one was in February, when the same balloon landed in a front garden in Hawthorn.
Passengers from this morning’s incident were unscathed. They finished their eventful morning with breakfast at Sofitel’s No35.
This story first appeared in The Age
