Firefighters rescued seven people after the hot- air balloon carrying them was gashed open by a tree and then drifted into another tree near Niwot, authorities say.
The accident that deflated the balloon happened about 6 a.m. near 63rd Street and Habitat Road in Boulder County, said Sgt. Mike Linden of the Boulder County Sheriff’s Office.
Six passengers and pilot Tommy Cederlund climbed down a Fire Department ladder from the basket, which was dangling about 25 feet above the ground, Linden said.
The Federal Aviation Administration and the National Transportation Safety Board will investigate the crash of the licensed balloon, he said.
Cederlund owns Sunny Day Come Fly Away.
“He apparently misjudged the wind and the balloon struck a tree,” Linden said.
A branch ripped a large hole in the balloon, which drifted about a quarter-mile before getting tangled in another tree, he said.
Kirk Mitchell: 303-954-1206 or kmitchell@denverpost.com
