Hot-air balloon lands in retention pond near S.R. 429, Disney World

ORANGE COUNTY  A hot-air balloon trip landed 16 passengers and a pilot in a retention pond off State Road 429 Monday, July 3.

The pilot told Florida Highway Patrol that he was attempting to land the balloon — which was from Orlando Balloon Rides — on the designated landing strip adjacent to the retention pond when the wind became an issue.

The wind issue resulted in the pilot landing the balloon in the pond, troopers said. All 16 occupants and the pilot got out of the balloon. The occupants were then transported back to their destination.

The retention pond is located off of the southbound lanes of S.R. 429, near Walt Disney World at mile marker 7. Troopers said the company is making arrangements to remove the balloon from the retention pond.

Orlando Balloon Rides released a statement praising the pilot for making a “split-second decision to intentionally make a water landing this morning.” According to the statement, the cause for emergency landing was a change of wind direction at ground level just before touchdown, forcing the pilot to either risk contact with power lines or land the balloon in the pond.

OBR added that all passengers are injury-free. An ambulance was called out of an abundance of caution for a 7-year-old boy who ingested some water, but he was treated and released at the scene, the statement said.

“I’m absolutely thrilled our pilot had the skills and the training necessary to make that decision,” OBR owner Keith Fear said in the statement. “Our pilot, Russ Lucas, has over 2,000 hours of hot-air-balloon pilot experience, and it shows. What happened today is certainly not a routine situation, but he did what he needed to do to avoid something far worse and make sure everyone stayed safe.”

“We’re both relieved and sad for our passengers,” Fear said in the statement. “We’re relieved they are OK, but we know this has not been the fantastic experience we were looking for. We’re committed to making things right with them. While we understand this is unusual and may even be scary, we think our pilot absolutely made the right decision.”

Contact Danielle Hendrix at [email protected].