Couple's romantic hot-air-balloon ride slams into tree, crash lands on California golf course
In the definitive example of a romantic outing gone awry, a couple on a scenic hot air balloon ride around Solano County, Ca. this weekend held on for dear life as they crash landed on the Green Valley Country Club driving range.
According to KCRA 3, Zachary and London Kellis were on board Saturday morning when they hit a tree and needed to make an emergency landing. They boarded the balloon near Napa Valley, and the partners said there was little to no communication from the pilot as they were going down.
“We brushed up against the top of the tree once and then the big one,” Zachary Kellis said. “We hit a big, big tree. We just kind of slammed into it, and a lot of branches broke.”
“There was no warning for us,” he continued. “It was no, ‘Hey, we’re about to hit a tree. You get down,’” London Kellis added. “It was just that we slammed into it.”
After the impact, the balloon stayed up in the air for a couple of minutes until eventually settling down on the driving range, with golfers looking on. Zachary Kellis admitted to being frightened for his life after the initial collision, and London Kellis added that there was little protection for a situation like this.
“The basket can tip, and nothing is securing you in there,” she said. “So if we end up landing in the tree and the basket tips over, we’re falling out. There’s no holding us in there.”
The Kellises were also upset by the pilot’s reaction when they were giving information to the local firefighters who rushed out to help.
“The pilot got a little irritated about that,” Zachary Kellis said. “He came over and asked why we were having our information taken, and the firefighter responded that they have to notate it because of the accident. And he said there was no accident. There was no crash.”
In a statement to KCRA 3, Napa Valley Aloft said no passengers, crew members or people on the ground were injured and that the trouble “was handled professionally by the pilot."
“There was no emergency landing and no injuries to passengers, crew members, or anyone on the ground,” said Erica Ayala, Napa Valley Aloft's General Manager. “During the flight, the balloon encountered a localized downdraft and shifting wind conditions, resulting in brief contact between the basket and a tree. Incidental contact with vegetation can occasionally occur during balloon operations and does not necessarily constitute an emergency situation.”
Whether it's an "emergency situation" or not, this is probably the end of any hot-air-balloon dates for this particular couple. Maybe a few glasses of wine next time or perhaps a round of golf. We already know they've scoped out Green Valley Country Club.