The Nation - News from June 12, 1989

Three hot-air balloonists died when their aircraft ran into a television transmitting tower’s guy wires and plunged 1,000 feet to the ground near Garner, N.C. The accident occurred shortly after the balloon had taken off, said Capt. Macks Pickett of the Wake County Sheriff’s Department. The gas valves feeding the burners that fill the gas bag with hot air were wide open, suggesting the pilot had been trying to gain altitude, rescuers said. Ronald E. Brady, co-owner of another charter balloon company nearby, said tricky winds had led his company to cancel flights. Brady said he was concerned about a shear--an abrupt change in wind speed or direction--detected in the 300- to 400-foot range.