COULTER, Iowa—A helium-powered balloon hit a power line and crashed onto a north-central Iowa cattle pasture on Friday, killing two Colorado men and injuring a third man from New Mexico, a sheriff said.
The balloon—which launched Wednesday from Greeley, Colo.—was descending when it hit the line around 9:15 a.m. The balloon and the basket separated and the basket fell 60 feet to the ground, said Franklin County Sheriff Larry Richtsmeier.
Killed in the crash were Dr. Thomas Boylan, 62, an osteopath from Fort Collins, Colo., and Bradley Brookhart, 37, of Littleton, Colo. Doug Chaplin, 58, of Albuquerque, N.M., was listed in fair condition Friday night at a hospital in Mason City.
Residents who had come out of their house to wave at the balloonists saw it hit the power line, called 911 and rushed to the scene, Richtsmeier said. They found the basket on its side in the pasture, about three miles southwest of Coulter.
Marillyn Korth and her husband had heard from neighbors that the balloon was heading in their direction so were watching for it from their living room window. They said it seemed to suddenly stop.
Their son was outside working on farm equipment and saw it hit the lines and yelled for his parents to call 911.
“I was going to go out there to wave at them because that’s very exciting. We don’t see very many balloons,” she said. “But it didn’t end up being that exciting. I’m glad at least someone was there. At least we could watch and get help.”
Shannon White, co-owner of Mountain Breeze Ballooning in Fort Collins, Colo., told The Coloradoan newspaper that he likely would have been in the balloon basket with Boylan if his wife had relayed a phone message from Boylan asking him to go on the trip.
“I think my angels were looking out for me,” White said. “That’s all I can figure because I’m sure I would have been right there. It’s not my nature to turn down a flight.”
White told The Associated Press that Brookhart was an engineer who started as part of a crew on a balloon and then bought his own balloon. He said Brookhart was with Boylan to get his rating on gas balloons.
White said Boylan was an excellent pilot who was respected and willing to help others. He never flew with Boylan in his basket but went to several events where Boylan flew, including the Balloon Fiesta in Albuquerque.
Investigators from the sheriff’s office were at the scene Friday afternoon and officials from the Federal Aviation Administration had arrived to assist in the investigation.
Richtsmeier said paperwork found in one of the men’s pockets indicated they had spent Thursday night in the Omaha, Neb., area. They were flying beneath a helium balloon, rather than a more common hot air balloon powered by propane burners, Richtsmeier said.
On Friday morning, there were high scattered clouds and winds of 15 to 20 mph from the south, Richtsmeier said.
“It was a good clear morning,” he said.
