- A hot air balloon crashed into the Sky River Casino on Monday.
- An emergency landing due to high wind was the cause of the crash.
SACRAMENTO – In some terrifying news out of Northern California, a hot air balloon was forced to make a rough emergency landing due to high winds.
Strong winds forced a hot air balloon ride in Elk Grove, just outside of Sacramento, to crash into a legal casino, the Sky River Casino, on Monday afternoon.
A hot air balloon hit the side of the Sky River Casino Monday after an unplanned launch, Elk Grove police said.
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The only passenger in the balloon at the time of the crash was the pilot. It came down and crashed into the side of the California casino before striking powerlines and coming down in an open field to the southeast of Grant Line Road.
“Due to unexpected heavy winds, the pilot chose to launch into free flight in accordance with safety protocols. The balloon and pilot landed safely,” said Cindy Rodriguez, PR Manager at Sky River Casino.
At the time of the incident, the casino was celebrating the construction launch of their new resort. One resident in attendance had this to say:
“We were watching it live as he was struggling,” the resident said. “It’s almost like when a balloon goes up from a child’s birthday party, and seeing how it deteriorates, this was just a giant-sized balloon.”
The pilot of the hot air balloon came out of the incident uninjured. Federal investigators, the Federal Aviation Administration, and the National Transportation Safety Board were all aware of the accident.