A hot air balloon pilot has been seriously injured in a “rough landing” near Ashburton, south Canterbury.
According to the Transport Accident Investigation Commission (TAIC), the pilot is understood to have been ejected from the basket during a rough landing on Saturday.
The pilot became caught in a rope and was dragged some way before the balloon came to rest and the basket tipped over, the Commission said in a statement.
St John told 1News they were called at 9.10am and one person was transported to Christchurch Hospital in a serious condition. They sent one ambulance and one helicopter to the scene.
There were no other injuries, but the TAIC said there were seven others on board.
The Commission is now appealing for witnesses of the accident to come forward.
"We are particularly keen to receive photographs or videos," the agency's chief investigator of accidents, Harald Hendel, said.
As part of its investigation, Hendel said the Commission had appointed two investigators who were travelling to the accident site on Saturday.
"Over the next several days, TAIC's investigators will gather evidence about the accident scene, secure wreckage and electronic records such as photos, videos, and location data on the cellphones of the balloon occupants," he said.
"We're interested in what the balloon occupants recall, along with the relevant professional and personal backgrounds of the pilot and other operator staff, what they knew, thought, experienced, and did.
"We'll be looking at the balloon, basket and other elements of the aircraft, its individual and type history, performance, maintenance, design.
"The operating environment is also of interest, including physical, weather, operating company safety system, organisational culture of the operator, traffic control, regulatory matters."
Police also told 1News they were called at 9.55am.
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