Woman in hospital with burn injuries after ‘aircraft burst into flames after hitting power cables’
The balloon fell 200ft into field of a car boot sale with two passengers on board
A WOMAN suffered burn injuries after a hot air balloon crashed into a field where around 100 people were visiting a car boot sale.
Witnesses said they saw the balloon go up in flames before falling 200ft after reportedly hitting power cables.
It's understood there were just two people on board - the 22-year-old injured woman and a male pilot, 64, who escaped unharmed.
She was airlifted to Queen Elizabeth Hospital in Birmingham from the crash scene near to the B573 near to Earls Barton, near Wellingborough, in Northamptonshire.
Witness Hayden James told the Northampton Chronicle: “I think it hit a pylon because it shot up in the air.
“It looked like the pilot then tried to put some more hot air in but it suddenly caught fire.
“It went down pretty quickly after that.”
Others said they saw smoke billowing from the canopy before it plummeted down at around 7.30am.
Steve Tee said: "The balloon seemed to struggle to gain the altitude. The balloon basket hit the power lines causing it to burst into flames.
"The balloon to rapidly deflate and plummet. I hope all involved are going to be ok."
An eyewitness, who did not want to be named, said there were several balloons in the air above a car-boot sale held by nearby Whites Nurseries.
He said: "One of them looked like it was carrying on towards the village and I think it must have collided with the electricity lines. There were quite a few people in the field at the time."
The crash caused power to be temporarily cut to more than 2,000 homes, Western Power Distribution said.
A spokesman said: "We had one of our 33,000 volt circuits trip - it was a momentary interruption to 2,360 customers and they were restored automatically within a minute.
"We had a report of a hot air balloon crash and since then we have switched the circuit out. Engineers attended and the circuit was completely isolated. They inspected the line and completed minor repairs.
"The line did not come down."
The Air Accident Investigation Bureau is now looking into the incident.
A spokesman said: "We are aware of the incident and are making inquiries."
Yesterday, nine passengers made it safely back onto dry land after a dramatic sea rescue of the hot air balloon they were travelling in.
It's believed the aircraft ran out of fuel, but avoided crashing into the sea of Port Phillip Bay in Melbourne, Australia.
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