ConfederateArmy’s
attemptstobursthis
balloonsearnedLowe
thetitleof‘themost
shot-atmaninthewar’.9
IT’SNOSURPRISE
Lowesurvived;
f lyingina hot-air
balloonisverysafe.
Theoddsofan
accidentbeingfatal
areclosetothe
impressivesafety
recordofairtransport.10
THEWORLD’S
deadliesthot-
airballoonaccident
occurrednearLuxor
inEgyptin2013,when
a ballooncaughtfire,
killing 19 people.In
2016 , 16peopledied
aftera balloonran
intopowerlinesand
caughtfireinTexas.
Beforethen,Alice
SpringsinCentral
Australiawasthe
sceneofthedeadliest
accident,whenin
1989 twoballoons
collidedmid-air,and
killed 13 people.In
2012,a hotairballoon
struckpowerlines
nearCarterton,New
Zealand, and exploded,crashingtotheground.
All 11 peopleon board
werekilled.11
THEGREATEST
balloonfauxpas
actuallytookplacein
a movie.Remember
whenDorothypiles
intooneattheend
of TheWizardofOzto
f lyhometoKansas?
Thewritingon
theenvelopereads
‘StateFairOmaha’–
whichisinNebraska.
Tobefair,novelist
TimothySchafferthas
pointedoutthatinL.
FrankBaum’snovel,
thewizardcame
fromOmaha.12
BALLOONS
seemtoinspire
creativef lightsof
fancy.Forinstance,a
storyintheApril13,
1844,editionofthe
NewYorkSunhadan
intriguingheadline:
“ASTOUNDINGNEWS!
THEATLANTIC
CROSSEDINTHREE
DAYS!SIGNA L
TRIUMPHOFMR.
MONCKMASON’S
FLYINGMACHINE!!!”
The tale of the balloonthatcrossedanocean
beforesafelylanding
nearCharleston,
SouthCarolina,
rivetedreaders.
Theproblem:
Thestorywasfake
news,writtenbyan
ambitiousjournalist.
Hisname:Edgar
AllanPoe.13
THEREACTIONS
thatballoons
engenderhaveledtoa
fizzytradition.Backin
19th-centuryFrance,
balloonswouldterrify
thelocals,sopilots
packedchampagneto
appeasepeoplewhere
theylanded.
Somethingsimilar
happenedoneSunday
morninginJunelast
year,whenballoonist
MarkStodolski
unexpectedlylanded
inthebackyardofa
Massachusetts
homeowner.“Oh,do
youmind?”Stodolski
askedthesurprised
man.“No,you’recool,”
hereplied.Stodolski
handeda bottleof
champagnetothe
man,whothenwent
back to bed.109
Soaring Facts About Hot Air Balloons