A hot air balloon ran into power lines across from Upland Brewing Co. in Bloomington shortly after 5 p.m. Thursday.
The Kiwanis balloon didn’t get off the ground before falling across the power lines on W 11 th Street.
The Federal Aviation Administration said in an email that three people were on board and that there is an ongoing investigation. The FAA preliminary accident and incident report said that after the attempted departure, a gust of wind pushed the envelope of the balloon into the powerlines.
VIDEO: Hot air balloon crashes into power lines next to Upland Brewing causing power outages. Courtesy Kelley Wight. More at https://t.co/54HKjdjeDM pic.twitter.com/dOgZFUugFO — WFIU News (@WFIUNews) November 3, 2022
Bloomington resident Kelley Wight was eating at Upland Brewing Co. when she saw the incident occur.
“I was parking my car and I was walking up, and I thought it was so cool that I got to see a hot air balloon takeoff,” Wight said. “And then it ran into the power cord, and then there was a big loud spark.”
All residents in the area remain without power. IU student Mallory Tessler said that the power outage came as a shock.
On the scene where a hot air balloon landed on the power lines across from Upland Brewing. Power is out for all buildings in the area. #bloomington pic.twitter.com/2a1UbD9wZN — Cali Lichter (@CaliLichter) November 3, 2022
“I was sitting on my couch watching TV and all of a sudden everything just went dark,” Tessler said. “We called Duke Energy and they Told us 1300 people are impacted and the electricity will be on by 8:30.”
Upland Brewing Co. canceled all reservations and is closed until further notice.
