Hot air balloon clips radio tower, causing it to collapse in North Valley
Oct 11, 2024
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (KRQE) – A hot air balloon caused KKOB's radio tower to collapse in Albuquerque's North Valley Friday morning, according to Bernalillo County Fire Rescue (BCFR)
Fire crews and law enforcement were called out to the scene at 10511 2nd Street NW near Diers Road NW after the balloon hit the tower around 8:45 a.m. The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) said the balloon collided with the tower shortly after launching from Balloon Fiesta Park.
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Three people were on board and were able to safely land in the balloon, according to the FAA and BCFR. No one was injured in the incident, BCFR added.
Bernalillo County Sheriff's Office deputies tracked the balloon as it was still in the air and, along with the FAA, met with the two occupants and one pilot, Dan Ewer of Tuscon, Arizona, who landed in the front yard of 119 Jacobs Ln. NW.
The FAA is the lead investigating agency and expects to release a preliminary accident/incident report in the coming days.
The downed tower forced News Radio 770 KKOB AM off the air. Cumulus Broadcasting, which owns KKOB, is assessing the damage and clean up of the tower. In the meantime, PNM has shut off the electricity.
A second tower on site was not impacted, according to BCSO. Two homes were evacuated after the collapse, but no property was damaged.
KRQE News 13 spoke to people who saw the balloon collision unfold.
"I was just watching the balloons coming over and I saw a particular one he was cruising at a pretty good clip, blue with a yellow half moon on it. He was heading directly for that large tower," said Linda Shaw.
One woman who lives in the area said she could feel the vibrations from the tower collapse shake her house. "I had never thought I was going to experience something like this, you know it was very dramatic and scary," said Desiree Garcia.
This is not the first time towers like the one hit Friday have been involved in a hot air balloon incident. A KKOB tower 20 years ago was struck by a Smokey Bear Balloon. That incident resulted in the balloon getting hung up on the tower.