A 40-year-old hot air balloonist dies today in Siena. She was thrown from the aircraft’s basket.
A female hot-air balloon pilot perished after she was thrown from the aircraft’s basket from ten or so metres above the ground. The accident happened this morning, around 8am, in Finocchietto hamlet, in Bibbiano between Montalcino and Buonconvento south of Siena.
No known cause as balloonist dies
The pilot had disembarked a group of tourists, Ansa reports, when her craft took off again unexpectedly. This jolted her out of the balloon’s basket.
The woman died instantly. Unscathed, the tourists witnessed the tragedy helplessly.
The fire brigade and 118 health workers ascertained the death of the woman. The Carabinieri, on behalf of the Public Prosecutor of Siena who opened a file, will investigate the cause of the accident. The National Agency for Flight Safety also “opened a safety investigation and sent its own investigator to carry out an operational inspection”. From the first reconstructions, it seems the cause was a pressure jump from the balloon,
Another woman on board a second balloon called the police and emergency services.
