BalloonLife,October1999

38

Experience of others can help prepare you for the unexpected!

HangarFlying

editedbyGeorgeDenniston

Grab a Rope!

by George Denniston

HANGAR FLYING with George Den-
niston is presented to enhance safe flyin g
by providing balloonists the oppo rtunity
to gain experience from others without
actually flying. The column is edited b y
George Denniston who is a d octor and
balloonist living in Seattle, Washington.
Articles may be signed or anonymous to
protect the privacy of those involv ed, as
the author wishes. If you have an experi-
ence th at you would like to share with
others, send your manuscript to Balloo n
Life magazine, Hangar Fly ing wi th
George Denniston, 2336 47th Ave SW,
Seattle, WA 98116-2 331. Submissions
may be typewritten, submitted on disk
(Mac or IBM format), or e-mailed to
tom@balloonlife.com. Balloon Life pays
$35 for each story used.

Someyearsago,aSanFrancisconight-
clubwaspreparingtosponsor aballoon
race. To publicize the event, two balloons
were planningtoflyoutof Mill Valley,
just north of the city. They were inflating
fortakeoff. Eleven yearold Danny Nowell
was riding his bike when he saw a crowd
andthetwoballoonsinafieldnearhis
home.
“I went over to see what was going on
and somebody yelled, ‘Grab a rope.’ Four
boys—includingme—wereholdingone
rope. A woman was holding another, and
two boys were holding another. Then the
balloon took off and everybody let go but
me.”
Amidscreams fromwomenspecta-
tors, Dannywasliftedeightfeetoff the
ground. A man grabbedhislegs butthis
apparentlytightenedtherope intoa half
hitcharoundDanny’sfingers.Theuni-
dentifiedman dropped off as the balloon
begantorise steadily. The pilot, William
BerryofConcord,Californiawasun-
aware of the passenger suspended 30 feet
below hisbasket.
BerrywasunabletohearDanny’s
cries,duetothesafetyhelmethewas
wearingandtotheburnernoise. Finally
when the burners were quiet at 3000 feet,
Berryheard the boy’s plaintive cry, “Sir,
please helpme!”
Theastonishedpilotglanceddown

fromhisperch,andsawthissmallboy
danglinginmidairsome30feetbelow.
Hespokereassuringlytohimasthey
driftedwest.Heurgedhimnottolook
down. Promptlyhe beganspillingairto
increase the rate of descent.
“We’ll get youdown. Don’t worry,”
he called.
Descendingat25feetpersecond
before the final flare, Danny and then the
ballooncame torestinthebackyardof
Clarence Browning’shome,threemiles
fromthe takeoff point.
Deputy Sheriff Jim Cain arrived sec-

onds later. As soon as he had seen the boy
carried aloft, he had started in pursuit and
had called an ambulance. The boy, suffer-
ing shock and a bruised left hand, was
taken to a hospital where he was pro-
nounced in good shape. Danny said he
had been up in an airplane many times, but
those flights never compared with this ten
minute ride. He conceded that he was
pretty scared, and had not expected to
come through this experience alive.

Editor: This story was compiled from
newspaper accounts of the event.