Two Colorado men died today when their helium balloon hit a powerline while descending onto a field in Iowa.
The balloon had lifted off Wednesday night from Greeley, accompanied by a second balloon which landed safely tonight near Madison, WI.
Iowa authorities said the powerline severed the wicker basket from the balloon about 60 feet above the ground, causing the basket to drop to the ground. Pronounced dead at the scene were Dr. Thomas Boylan, 62, of Fort Collins; and Bradley Brookhart, 37, of Littleton.
A third man, Doug Chaplin, 58, of Albuquerque, was taken to a hospital for treatment, where he is listed in fair condition.
The accident occurred near Hampton, Iowa, in Franklin County, not far from Cedar Falls in the north-central area of the state.
According to a ballooning operation, Skyspan, in Albuquerque, which owned the balloon that landed in Wisconsin, strong ground winds may have contributed to the accident.
Dr. Boylan’s balloon was on “a fun flight” while the other balloon, piloted by Troy Bradley, was attempting to set records for a roziere balloon, which is lifted by a combination of gas and hot air, according to Tami Bradley, Troy’s wife.
Tami Bradley wouldn’t speculate why the two balloons separated during two-day flight.
“They had each other in sight the next (Thursday) morning,” she said.
The injured man, Chaplin, would have qualified to pilot gas balloons had this flight gone safely, she said.
“None of these men were new to ballooning,” she said, adding she didn’t know the exact hours the three victims had spent in balloons. She said her husband had more than 20 years’ experience piloting balloons and that Dr. Boylan had about the same.
Franklin County Sheriff Larry Richtsmeier said the crash occurred about 9:15 a.m., today.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Mike McPhee: 303-954-1409 or mmcphee@denverpost.com
