Posted on 10/15/2023 1:29:00 PM PDT by skyman
The pilot of a gas balloon that crashed into power lines in North Texas earlier this week said he and his co-pilot were being shot at and attempted to make an emergency landing.
"We heard more and more automatic guns. It was not one shot. It was, ‘Do, do, do, do, do, do!’" Krzystotf Zapart, who along with Pjotr Halas, were competing for the Polish national team in the Gordon Bennett Gas Balloon Race, told FOX 4 Dallas-Forth Worth.
The men's hydrogen-filled balloon burst into flames after it hit the power lines Monday, but they were saved by some good Samaritans.
"You looked in the basket and could barely see because of the flames and the smoke," Israel Alfaro, a Dallas English teacher who helped with the rescue, said. "The gentleman in the basket couldn't help us with his weight because his legs were broken. When we pulled him out, we had to drag him through some of the fire."
(Excerpt) Read more at foxnews.com ...
Now I have “Take a Walk on the Wild Side” on my mind. Argh.
How did they get over Gaza?
“hydrogen-filled balloon “
That might be a problem.
5.56mm
Hydrogen filled? I thought we learned that lesson after the Hindenburg disaster.
“Happens a few times a year. Sound carries so far in the still of the night that I have no idea how far away they are. But the reports are somewhat loud and crisp.”
Check your area for hunting seasons. In rural areas, there are still some that raccoon hunt at night. And coyote and wild hog hunters sometime hunt at night.
Of course, there are also some people (such as old high-school or college buddies) who gather once or twice a year at the home of the one who lives on a few acres in the woods. They enjoy an afternoon and evening of BBQ, a few games of poker, then late night target shooting. That is followed by a later night of drinking and swapping stories about who has the smartest grandchild. Harmless fun!
Oh yeah. Mr baloonatier, describe it correctly. It is “pew pew pew pew pew pew!”
Or maybe it is "pew, pew, pew, pew!".
Darwin Award Honorable Mention
In Texas you never know! I’m glad they’re OK, will have a Texas tale to tell when they get home.
The Artillery Simulators are always window-rattling.
I sometimes get the training from TBS and IOC mixed up with the quarry operations at Vulcan.
We are a peaceful nation.
We and the neighbor across the street, have posted signs at our entrances (easily seen from either direction) “Private Firing Range In Use”.
Of course, the road behind me has two houses with similar signs, and the guy three doors east of me (about 12+ acres away (2500+ feet) doesn’t have any signs, but has a range that can be seen from the road.
So, we are pretty used to random gunfire in my neck of the woods.
Two Pollacks fly a balloon past a firing range...
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