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Two people rescued after hot air balloon collides with tower

Posted on 2/28/26 at 1:08 pm
Posted by Jim Rockford
Member since May 2011
104745 posts
Posted on 2/28/26 at 1:08 pm
quote:

GREGG COUNTY, Texas (KLTV) - A hot air balloon is caught in a communications tower in the area of State Highway 300 and Farm-to-Market Road 1844 in Gregg County.

Two people were trapped 925 feet in the air after their balloon collided with a communications tower, according to Fire Marshal Marcus Delaney.

A tower crew to remove the balloon is en route, but are said to be “hours away.”

Longview firefighters, along with first responders from multiple agencies, were dispatched around 8:15 a.m. to the high-angle rescue.

“This is a very complex incident involving multiple agencies from multiple jurisdictions,” an East Mountain Police spokesperson wrote on Facebook. “As rescue operations are currently underway I ask that you avoid the area of at all possible. Please do not park along the roadway and cause more issues, distractions or crashes.”

Around 10:58 a.m., both people were pulled from the basket.

Witnesses at the scene confirmed one rider has been rescued from the tower and is currently being transported to the hospital via ambulance.


LINK



Posted by fightin tigers
Downtown Prairieville
Member since Mar 2008
77452 posts
Posted on 2/28/26 at 1:09 pm to
Tower came out of nowhere
Posted by DownshiftAndFloorIt
Here
Member since Jan 2011
71641 posts
Posted on 2/28/26 at 1:13 pm to
Whats amazing is some dude climbing 925 feet up a damn radio tower.
Posted by Ghost of Colby
Alberta, overlooking B.C.
Member since Jan 2009
15410 posts
Posted on 2/28/26 at 1:15 pm to


Nope, nope, nope, hell no

Posted by fightin tigers
Downtown Prairieville
Member since Mar 2008
77452 posts
Posted on 2/28/26 at 1:17 pm to
bypass paywall

I worked with one of these guys a couple years after this event
quote:

Two maintenance workers on a Catonsville communications tower survived a terrifying 200-foot fall onto a chain-link fence yesterday when their safety equipment failed, escaping with bruises and minor fractures.

“It’s a miracle — God’s grace saved his life,” said Russell Beck, the father of one man and owner of Blanton Antenna Services, the Severn company that erects and maintains radio, television and cellular towers and employs the two men.



Posted by I Like Cheeze
Member since Dec 2024
65 posts
Posted on 2/28/26 at 1:18 pm to
I wonder how they get then down
Posted by DustyDinkleman
Here
Member since Feb 2012
19718 posts
Posted on 2/28/26 at 1:25 pm to
quote:

I wonder how they get then down


Gravity
Posted by DoctorTechnical
Baton Rouge
Member since Jul 2009
3004 posts
Posted on 2/28/26 at 1:26 pm to
Bunch of FM stations on that tower.
Posted by RougeDawg
Member since Jul 2016
7480 posts
Posted on 2/28/26 at 1:31 pm to
Riding on a big balloon you can't steer seems a bit risky.
Posted by idlewatcher
Planet Arium
Member since Jan 2012
95017 posts
Posted on 2/28/26 at 1:38 pm to
Inb4cantparkthere

Posted by stuckintexas
Austin & DFW
Member since Sep 2009
3044 posts
Posted on 2/28/26 at 1:41 pm to
quote:

erects and maintains

The best any man can hope for
Posted by nicholastiger
Member since Jan 2004
54951 posts
Posted on 2/28/26 at 1:47 pm to
Were they trying to close the upside down
Posted by PurpleSingularity
Member since Dec 2017
2750 posts
Posted on 2/28/26 at 1:47 pm to
quote:

Erects and Maintains….the most any man can hope for….


This post was edited on 2/28/26 at 1:49 pm
Posted by upgrayedd
Lifting at Tobin's house
Member since Mar 2013
138508 posts
Posted on 2/28/26 at 1:59 pm to
Worked near the Sonoma County airport for a couple weeks and watched hot air balloons go up almost every day for 2 weeks. After that, I swore I’d never go up in one.
Posted by Fat and Happy
Baton Rouge
Member since Jan 2013
19684 posts
Posted on 2/28/26 at 2:01 pm to
That’s a serious climb.
Posted by LSUtoBOOT
Member since Aug 2012
19755 posts
Posted on 2/28/26 at 4:29 pm to
quote:

That’s a serious climb.

I certainly wouldn’t be cracking jokes on the way up.
Posted by liz18lsu
Member since Feb 2009
18004 posts
Posted on 2/28/26 at 5:11 pm to
I am legitimately angry at the morons in the balloon. People had to climb up a tower to "save" them. I hope they had to climb down and were terrified in doing so.
Posted by AtlantaLSUfan
Baton Rouge
Member since Mar 2009
26928 posts
Posted on 2/28/26 at 5:49 pm to
2hr wait while trapped 900 ft high. Then they still had to climb down once rescued.
Posted by OweO
Plaquemine, La
Member since Sep 2009
121269 posts
Posted on 2/28/26 at 8:59 pm to
I am willing to try new things, I don't mind flying, etc but for some reason the idea of a hot air balloon scares me. I can't imagine being stuck up there for hours.
Posted by Lou Loomis
A pond. Ponds good for you.
Member since Mar 2025
1614 posts
Posted on 2/28/26 at 10:06 pm to
Not a chance I would ever go up in one of those. I don’t understand what makes people do it.
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