20260723009199A

A balloon business owner contracted with the owner of the Johnstown galleria mall to participate in the 2026 Cambria county community heroes carnival. The balloon business owner maintains a professional relationship with the balloon pilot. They planned to conduct tethered balloon flights in an asphalt parking lot using a 100-foot tether. The crew observed light wind coming out of the north. Between 5:30 pm and 6:00 pm, the crew began to inflate the balloon. The crew secured the balloon with 3 lines appropriate to northerly winds. They secured the lines to vehicles. With the balloon inflated, the first group of passengers boarded the basket. Then, a wind gust of approximately 10 knots struck the balloon from the south. The balloon pilot made the decision to deflate the balloon. When the crew had deflated the balloon by about 75% (that is, when the balloon was about 25% inflated), a second wind gust lifted a portion of the envelope. This caused a crewmember who was holding a line to be lifted approximately 15 feet into the air. This crewmember was experienced and well-known by the pilot and the balloon business owner. The gust also caused the basket to fall on its side. Everyone who was in the basket fell out of the basket except for the pilot and one male passenger. Crewmembers and volunteers tried to pull on lines to minimize the distance the wind would drag the envelope and the basket. The enveloped dragged the basket about 15 feet before it stopped. The passenger who was still in the basket was in contact with the pavement while it was being dragged. The pilot tried to assist the passenger to minimize his injuries. The crewmember who had been picked up by the line fell back to the pavement as the gust subsided. The crewmember sustained an ankle sprain, a nose fracture, and a hip fracture. The passenger who remained in the basket sustained an abrasion to his head. Another passenger who had been thrown from the basket sustained injuries to her hand.