The frightening moment the hot air balloon he was riding in came
crashing down was filmed by a man in California. Nicholas McCall was taking his
first balloon ride, but severe winds caused the balloon to crash land.
McCall originally shared the crash on TikTok, and it quickly
spread to other social media networks. The video is currently going viral.
“My first hot air balloon experience was going great until the
winds picked up,” he captioned the video. The 24-second film shows McCall
in the basket of the balloon with many others as it flies over the town of
Perris, near San Diego.
Also read: Tesla flies 50 feet in the air before crash, video viral on social media
The footage abruptly switches to a crash, with high-speed wind
knocking the balloon to the ground. “Here we go!” the guide is heard
in the video. “Everybody hang on! Everybody hang on and stay in the
basket!” he screams.
In the shaky footage, the guide keeps telling the riders to remain
in the balloon’s basket at all times. “In the basket with me! Stay on! Stay on!
Stay on!” he further says.
Also read: American dream wrapped in red-tape: A million migrants await work permits
Remarkably, no one was hurt as a result of the incident. The
footage has been seen over 65,000 times on TikTok. Many social media users
praised the guide for being calm during the situation after the video clip went
viral.
“I need the calmness that guy has in my life,” one user commented.
“Never met a calmer man in my life,” said another.
A third user called the pilot “smart” for communicating with the
passengers of the balloon.
Earlier this year, a pilot in a different hot air balloon accident
was thrown from the basket on landing due to not wearing harnesses.
The balloon, which was carrying seven passengers and the pilot,
was landing in a field when it turned over following a difficult landing,
ejecting the pilot.
Also read: Assam labourer buys scooty worth Rs. 1.5 lakh with coins saved over 8 years
He was pulled across the field by the balloon rope that got
entangled around his neck. He was critically hurt and spent time in the
hospital as a result of the tragedy.