A hot air balloon wrapped itself around a light pole at Aranda Playing Fields while landing, causing minor damage to the balloon but left 16 passengers and its pilot uninjured.
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ACT firefighters had to come and cut down the balloon which had been finishing its journey when an unexpected gust of wind blew it into the pole.
Pilot Richard Gillespie said the journey had originally taken off from Kings Park, near the National Carillon, and had enjoyed a beautiful day before coming into land at Aranda.
"Unfortunately just as we touched down on the ground, the balloon slightly turned right and gift wrapped the light pole, so it just snagged the side of the ballon as we were coming into land," he said.
"We were on the ground as it snagged, so there were no injuries, no passengers were hurt or anything, but unfortunately it has damaged the balloon a little bit."
Mr Gillespie said ACT firefighters had used a nine-metre ladder to climb up the light pole and cut one the balloon's straps which had become tangled around the pole.
"I've seen it happen before," he said.
"It's pretty rare but I have seen balloons snag things. It doesn't happen regularly at all but it's something that can happen."
Mr Gillespie said he had been flying ballons for about 20 years, seven of those in Canberra, and nothing like this had ever happened before.
"I've probably flown over Canberra probably 2000 times I guess, something like that," he said.
Mr Gillespie said, despite the odd landing, all the passengers left happy and satisfied.
"It sort of made for an exciting ending to their flight," he said.
