Modern day History of ballooning

a pair of hopper balloons.

modern hot air balloons, more sophisticated onboard heat source montgolfier brothers basket of hot coals, pioneered ed yost beginning in 1950s resulted in first successful flight on october 22, 1960. first modern day hot air balloon built in united kingdom (uk) bristol belle in 1967. today, hot air balloons used recreation, , there 7,500 hot air balloons operating in united states.

the first tethered balloon in modern times made in france @ chantilly castle in 1994 aérophile sa.

notable accidents

november 1975 pilot terry mccormack , passenger tony hayes killed near wagga wagga, nsw balloon new endeavour struck whirlwind causing envelope collapse.

on 13 august 1989, 2 hot air balloons collided near alice springs, northern territory in australia. 1 balloon crashed ground killing 13 people.

on 12 september 1995, 3 gas balloons participating in gordon bennett cup entered belarusian air space. despite fact competition organizers had informed belarusian government race in may , flight plans had been filed, mil mi-24b attack helicopter of belarusian air force shot down 1 balloon, killing 2 american citizens, alan fraenckel , john stuart-jervis. of balloons forced land while third landed safely on 2 hours after initial downing. crews of 2 balloons fined entering belarus without visa , released. belarus has neither apologized nor offered compensation deaths.

on 11 august 2007, hot air balloon burned & crashed in british columbia when fuel line became dislodged propane tank, killing 2 passengers; transportation safety board of canada subsequently ruled fuel tanks should have automatic shutoff valves.

on 1 january 2011, hot air balloon crashed in westfield, somerset, united kingdom, killing both people on board.

on 7 january 2012, scenic hot air balloon flight carterton, new zealand, touched power line, caught fire, , crashed north of town, killing eleven people on board.

on 23 august 2012 in slovenia, hot air balloon crash-landed due thunderstorm, killing 6 , injuring other 26 people on board.

on 26 february 2013 deadliest ballooning accident in history occurred when hot air balloon exploded , crashed near luxor, egypt. crash killed 19 of 21 people on board.

on 30 july 2016, hot air balloon carrying 16 people caught fire , crashed near lockhart, texas. there no survivors.