4 Die and 5 Injured in 1982 Balloon Explosion

See the previous post about ballooning deaths from power lines.

1982 saw the worst accident in the Albuquerque International Balloon Fiesta's history. While later fatalities would be mostly due to falls from snagging power lines, this incident was the result of negligence and faulty equipment. The balloon, El Globo Grande, was one of the biggest on the ballooning circuit at the time, and was rated to carry 8 people, though it was carrying 9 at the time of the accident. The balloon carried the owner/pilot, who had made some non-regulation alterations to his burner system, as well as 8 other passenger, mostly people who had paid for a ride from the field before take-off. (These days, you can only purchase rides on the field from one Fiesta-certified company, called Rainbow Riders, but back then it was common for people to arrange flights with individual pilots as they were preparing for flight.) The flight went just fine and no power lines were involved, but as the balloon finally touched down to earth, the propane tanks exploded in a terrible fireball, that burned several passengers and the pilot. These were the lucky ones, as they were expelled from the basket while it was on the ground. The explosion sent the balloon rocketing upward, leaving little time for the remaining passengers to get out of the burning balloon. Several managed to jump out in time, the last of which was a woman who jumped from about 30 feet up and suffered some lasting spinal damage.

El Globo Grande drifting toward the Rio Grande, moments after the tragic deaths occurred. A few framing pieces are all that remain of the burned-out gondola.

Two couples, however, were not able to react fast enough, and were forced by the flames to jump to their deaths from upwards of 70 feet in the air. One of the ill-fated couples was caught by a news camera plummeting in each others arms as the situation unfolded. This newscast was seen by their 14 year old son at home, although he didn't know he was watching his own parents' deaths until later. As it turns out, the boy, Donnie Brainard, had earlier convinced his father and step-mother to go down to the Balloon Fiesta that day, as they had originally planned to go up to the Sandia Mountains to balloon watch. the son convinced them that they would be too far away to really enjoy the balloons (this is true, you can see them all, but they are so small in the distance as to lose most of the magic). Apparently, the balloon ride was a spur-of the-moment idea for them. Obviously, their son was pretty messed up with guilt over this incident for many years, but eventually was able to move on enough to tell his story and raise a family. He now works in real estate here in Albuquerque, but he also created the TV show "Win Ben Stein's Money" during earlier work in the entertainment business. You can check out his blog about his tragic past and his struggles to raise a daughter with disabilities at https://moomock.blogspot.com/2010/05/global-grande.html .

Donnie with photo of his parents, ABQ Journal.