Tully fires up over balloon’s near miss

2nd November 2009

WHILE they signed up for the trip of a lifetime, passengers in weekend hot air balloon flights came perilously close to tragedy at Goodna yesterday morning.

Ipswich Councillor Paul Tully called for stricter controls over hot air balloons in residential areas after three Brisbane-based balloons were blown off course over several Ipswich suburbs.

He said pictures showed one of the balloons within 50 metres of 11,000 volt electrical lines near homes at Brisbane Terrace, Goodna.

“This is a tragedy waiting to happen with balloons flying close to homes and high voltage electricity cables,” Cr Tully said.

Cr Tully said the incident followed a near-tragedy several years ago in Lower Stuart Street, Goodna, where a hot air balloon touched the roof of a house.

“Hot air balloons are subject to the mercy of the wind,” he said.

“They might look great but one day a tragedy will happen.

“I am calling on the Federal Government to move quickly to implement tighter safety controls over hot air balloon operators.”

Cr Tully said one balloon eventually landed at Moggill, while the other two came down near the Redbank Workshops.