Thursday, May 24, 2007

Slow news night yet again, unscheduled landing.

Not really a story this one....

http://www.wnep.com/Global/story.asp?S=6560026&nav=5ka4

It was the perfect gift; a balloon ride in Wyoming County to mark a 90th
birthday. The take-off and ride were just fine. It was the landing that
turned out to be a little tricky.

One thing a hot air balloon needs is wind. Tuesday night there was very
little wind and that help lead to an unscheduled landing in someone's yard.

Maxine Stephens of Nicholson has always wanted to go for a ride in a hot air
balloon. She said her daughter set up a ride to celebrate her birthday. Her
ride ended a little unexpectedly on the lawn of a house at Lake Sheridan.

"I remember them going in and out of the building you know until they found
a spot. It was pretty big and all the people were out down below," recalled
Maxine.

Denise Rich said she was shocked to see a hot air balloon land by her house.
She could hear the crew on the balloon talking to her neighbors.

"A couple times it looked hairy. His voice started to get real excited.
This one girl who was just sitting in her front yard, he threw a rope at her
and yelled 'Pull it!' and she got up and starting pulling it," Rich said.

About a dozen people who saw the hot air balloon went to see if they could
help.

Witnesses said the hot air balloon landed in one of the bigger yards at Lake
Sheridan.

The owner of the balloon said it is very common to make unscheduled
landings. Wind plays a big part in when and where they can land.

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