A hot air balloon pilot made a dramatic “split-second” decision to land in a narrow, car-lined residential street in Bedford on Saturday morning, avoiding potential damage to houses, cars, and power lines.
Oliver Surridge, 40, said his training “kicked in” when he was forced to bring the balloon down on Bower Street at around 09:30 BST. The flight had started at 07:15 from Great Staughton, Cambridgeshire, but changing wind conditions left him unable to reach his intended destination at Russell Park, News.Az reports, citing BBC.
“I was creeping at low speed, looking for a place to land, but the wind was just so light. We call it ‘becalmed’ when the wind stops,” Surridge explained. “The decision was taken as I had to land on the road safely and within Civil Aviation Authority guidelines. It was a split-second decision—you just go into autopilot.”
Surridge, a Bedford resident with ten years of industry experience and five as a pilot, had one passenger onboard and was accompanied by a ground crew of two, following in a car with a trailer. Thanks to quick thinking and careful handling, the balloon landed safely without incident, and no injuries were reported.
Residents who witnessed the landing helped secure the balloon, guiding it away from houses, cars, and overhead cables, turning a potentially dangerous situation into a safe, community-assisted event.
