On the morning of Saturday the twenty eighth of February 2026, a brightly colored sizzling air balloon launched close to Longview, Texas. There have been two onboard. I’ve not seen something that mentions the climate. It could be very fascinating to know extra about what the wind was that morning. Thus far, the one information I’ve seen is from the hearth fighters, reporting 9-17 knots, gusting 21 knots at 1,000 toes above floor degree. They weren’t significantly within the wind course.
However as a sizzling air balloon pilot, it is advisable to be. Sizzling air balloons have very restricted lateral management. Altering altitude is the first methodology of discovering totally different wind instructions. To some extent, you simply go the place the wind takes you.
On this case, the wind took the new air balloon too near a guyed mast.
A guyed mast is a slender, usually metal lattice construction held upright by units of man wires anchored to the bottom at intervals, basically a tall pole stabilised by cables. A freestanding tower over 400 toes turns into extra structurally demanding and prohibitively costly. Guyed masts could be constructed very tall and are comparatively low cost; broadcast masts routinely attain 1,000 toes or extra utilizing this design. Nonetheless, additionally they have a far bigger footprint due to the man strains.
The FCC registration lists this specific mast at 352 metres (1,155 toes). Constructed in 1996, its major tenant is KYKX 105.7 FM, who delight themselves on providing the perfect nation music in East Texas.
At round 8am native time, the new air balloon struck a man wire on the mast.
I do know that is awfully pedantic however the headlines all discuss in regards to the collision with the mast. However if you end up working with ships, and I really feel additionally sizzling air balloons, it is very important distinguish between a collision, during which each topics are shifting, and an allision, the place a shifting topic impacts a stationary one. The guyed mast was not going anyplace, thus this was an allision.
They allided into the man wire, which ripped the balloon’s envelope.
A sizzling air balloon has three most important elements: the envelope (the material bag that holds the new air), the burner (which heats the air), and the basket (the place the pilot and passengers stand).
The torn cloth wrapped itself across the wire and have become entangled within the mast construction. The basket with the pilot and passenger dangled helplessly at 925 toes above the bottom.
They used a cell phone to declare an emergency. They shut off the gasoline valve and tried to safe the basket. After which they waited.
The Longview Hearth Division acquired a dispatch of an emergency at 8:15 and 35 firefighters responded to the scene. Shortly earlier than 9:00, the hearth division was prepared to begin a rescue try.
Longview Hearth Division Lt. Stephen Winchell described the operation as “the Tremendous Bowl of rope rescue.” With 18 years of rope rescue expertise, he stated that he had by no means labored above 350 toes earlier than at the present time. Fourteen firefighters climbed the construction utilizing a number of rope techniques at totally different heights. Drones had been deployed the monitor circumstances and make sure the precise entanglement top.
These drones additionally gave us this nice video launched by the Longview Hearth Division.
Expertise the Longview Hearth Division’s dramatic rescue near a 1,000 toes within the air, in what specialists imagine is the very best climbing rope rescue in fireplace service historical past.
Sans Hawkins, the Chief Engineer of KYKX stated that his high precedence, when he first heard of the collision, was to cease the nation music broadcast.
Generally I really feel that method about nation music too. However this was for good purpose.
The balloon had struck the man wire simply 43 toes beneath the lively FM antenna. KYKX broadcasts at 100 kW ERP. ERP (Efficient Radiated Energy) is the measure of how a lot sign an FM station is successfully pushing out. In North America, 100 kW is the utmost: a full-power industrial FM station. For comparability, a low-power neighborhood FM station may run 10–100 watts.
There’s an awesome thread about radio towers on Mike Holt’s Discussion board, a reference discussion board for electrical professionals. I used to be significantly struck by this remark in regards to the danger of FM vs AM:
Greater frequencies have higher heating results on the physique. Standing subsequent to a 50 KW AM tower may have virtually no impact on you, however for those who climb up a tower and hold subsequent to a FM antenna radiating 50KW, you’ll really feel it…the old-time tower climbers inform me that you’ll first really feel heating in your eyes and testes. The RF publicity requirements are weighted primarily based on frequency…the upper the frequency, the higher the danger for tissue injury as a result of heating. There’s extra to it than that, but it surely’s an excessive amount of to debate right here.
What it is advisable to know, if you’ll fly right into a communications mast, is that AM and FM function at very totally different frequencies and the human physique absorbs RF vitality way more effectively at FM frequencies than AM. Intention for AM.
There’s a real-world case from Rfsafetysolutions the place a climber sporting protecting gear discovered that even at 10 % energy, the RF ranges close to the FM antennas had been dangerously excessive. When two of the three stations had been turned again on at full energy with out warning, the climber’s protecting swimsuit began smoking.
It’s simple to grasp why Hawkins stated his first precedence was to get KYKX off the air.
The climbers reached the 2 occupants at round 10:00. One was standing within the basket; the opposite was sitting. Crews secured the basket to the mast with half-inch static rope after which handed harnesses to the occupants. Each placed on harnesses after which climbed out of the basket. They swung over to the construction, over 900 toes above the bottom in 20 mph wind. By 11:00, each balloon occupants had been secured on the mast.
The descent took practically two extra hours, with each reaching the bottom, unhurt and apparently in good spirits, at 12:45, virtually 5 hours after they’d struck the wire.
That Monday, Tower King crews climbed the mast once more to take away the balloon. The Wi-fi Estimator wrote in regards to the high-angle rescue:
The recent air balloon that turned entangled on a broadcast tower north of Longview, TX, was safely eliminated by Tower King technicians Marshall Salsman and his nephew Adrian Salsman, who used specialised rigging and a cable-suspended work platform greater than 900 toes within the air to decrease the balloon’s gondola and retrieve the cover. After climbing the tower to arrange ropes, a winch, and a “pan” basket, the crew secured and minimize the balloon free, fastidiously decreasing the gondola earlier than gathering the big envelope, a troublesome process within the wind. Though each males are skilled tower staff, Marshall—who has 30 years within the business—stated the weird balloon entanglement required adapting to a state of affairs in contrast to typical tower work.
And to the reduction of nation music lovers in East Texas, KYKX resumed their broadcast.
The FAA are investigating.
