This is the dramatic moment a hot air balloon crashed in a parking lot after flying over house roofs and telephone lines in a ‘erratic’ trip.
The blimp landed with a crash in Taunton, Somerset, on Thursday, as stunned bystanders looked on.
Locals watched in amusement and dread as the balloon flew’very low’ before landing.
One witness spotted it flying over the M5 in ‘trouble’ before landing in town with a basket ‘full of people.’
Nicki Witherden was able to catch numerous videos of the balloon’s fall, including a bump landing on the asphalt.
The 53-year-old officer administrator, who lives just opposite the disused car park, said the balloon had been spotted across Taunton in the early evening.
She said: ‘I’d dozed off and my partner woke me up rambling about something so I got up and looked out from the balcony door to be confronted by the sheer size of the red balloon descending.
‘Lots of people had gathered to look with the noise of the fire ignition, it was a little scary to watch.
‘Amazingly no one was injured or hurt.
‘Lots of people had seen it descending around Taunton and it just happened to land right near to where I live.’
One Twitter user described the events, saying: ‘Air balloon out of control crash lands, several times, hits roofs, telephone wires.’
Another witness added: ‘The balloon looked to be in trouble as it went over the motorway. It came very low over shops.
‘It flew very low and erratically before coming down in the car park.
‘The car park was locked so nobody could get out.
‘They waited for a key holder to arrive. Passengers managed to exit via a side gate.
‘The basket was very full of people. When it landed they were all very quiet.’
It was reported no one was injured during the balloon’s unexpected descent on Thursday, May 19.
The balloon landed in Allington Road Park at around 9:20pm and was collected shortly afterwards.
The crew and some nearby residents then helped squeeze the air out and pack it away.
One of the individuals onboard the balloon added on social media: ‘The pilot did a fantastic job to bring us down safely’.
The logo on the balloon – Original Bristol 106.5FM – is for a former radio station that operated between 2007 and 2009.
The current owners of the balloon are Bailey Balloons.
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