No injuries when Carmel-launched hot air balloon comes down on Noblesville power lines
Look! Up in the sky! It’s a bird! It’s a plane! Meanwhile, down on the ground in some powerlines in Noblesville, it’s a hot air balloon.
Reporter photo by Janet Hart Leonard
On Tuesday evening, the Reporter’s own Janet Hart Leonard caught some photos of a hot air balloon coming down near 10th and Monument streets in Noblesville. According to Leonard, it looked to her like the balloon was going to attempt a landing at North Elementary School when things went awry. She put on her best Lois Lane face and rushed out to snap photos for Hamilton County’s Hometown Newspaper.
According to our news-gathering partners at WISH-TV Channel 8, the balloon had launched near the intersection of East Main Street and Hazel Dell Parkway in Carmel.
Hoosier Weather Daddy and Reporter Owner Paul Poteet tells us Tuesday’s high temps topped 85 degrees. The obvious assumption is that hot air and hot air balloons may not be best friends, but The Reporter has learned otherwise.
Is that Ladder 73 hanging up a huge sheet to dry? No, that’s Ladder 73 helping out a hot air balloon that got hung up on some wires while coming in for a landing. No one was injured, and it is safely back on the ground. (Photo provided by Noblesville Fire Department)
Indy Hot Air Owner Jack Semlar said atmospheric conditions had nothing to do with this incident. He also told The Reporter this is the first time a balloon from his company has been involved in an emergency landing.
According to Semlar, one pilot and four passengers were ending a one-hour scenic flight 20 minutes from sunset on Tuesday and were on approach to land at the school. Semlar said they did not see the powerlines until they were already coming down.
Semlar told The Reporter the pilot pulled a “smart vent” on the balloon to safely deflate it. The balloon instantly deflated and “just draped over the powerlines, causing a spark, but the basket was already down, and no one was in any danger.”
Leonard said she saw Indy Hot Air’s truck and trailer on the scene within two minutes of the strange touchdown and that Duke Energy had a bucket truck on sight shortly thereafter to help. Noblesville Police and Fire responded.
According to one Duke spokesperson, “Duke Energy line workers responded Tuesday evening. Minimal customers were affected between the hours of 8:30 and 10:20 p.m.”
Most of them were probably too interested in the scene to notice a minor electrical service disruption anyway.
Reporter photo by Janet Hart Leonard
It should be noted that the phone number painted on the side of the Indy Hot Air trailer seen in photos in today’s edition is not in fact the phone for that company. If you wish to try your luck in one of their balloons, the correct phone number is (317) 374-3538. You can also find them online at IndyHotAir.com.