A look at some recent Canadian hot air balloon-related accidents

Here’s a look at some balloon-related accidents in Canada.

July 14, 2001: The 15-year-old daughter of the organizer of the Gatineau Hot Air Balloon Festival died when a balloon piloted by her father struck an electrical wire. Julie Boileau was killed when the balloon, shifted by a gust of wind, touched a 25,000-volt line. Her father, Jean Boileau, was injured.

Aug. 11, 2007: Seven people were injured — three seriously — when a balloon carrying a dozen passengers crash-landed in a farmer’s field north of Winnipeg. Witnesses said the balloon bounced several times before the basket flipped upside down and caught fire.

Aug. 24, 2007: Two passengers died in Surrey, B.C. when an uncontrolled propane-fuelled fire broke out in a hot air balloon preparing for takeoff. Other passengers jumped from the burning basket as the balloon rose to the limit of its tethering strap and broke free, eventually plummeting into a nearby mobile home park.

July 14, 2010: Passengers on an Ottawa-area hot air balloon had a scare when the basket caught fire during an early landing due to turbulence. The fire self-extinguished, and the balloon struck some trees before rising again, eventually landing in a residential Ottawa neighbourhood. Nobody was hurt.

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Aug. 11, 2013: A 27-year-old pilot plunged to his death after failing to let go of a cable from another pilot’s balloon as he tried to help it land in St-Jean-sur-Richelieu, Que. The pilot was taking part in the popular annual balloon festival held just south of Montreal.

(Source: Transportation Safety Board of Canada; The Canadian Press)

The Canadian Press