What happened
On July 17, 2021, a KUBICEK BB100Z hot air balloon, registration EC-NHZ, completed a commercial sightseeing flight near Segovia, Spain. After approximately one hour of flight, the aircraft landed safely in a field near Zamarramala.
To deflate the envelope, the crew employed a ground support vehicle to pull the crown line. During this process, the pilot issued a radio command to stop the vehicle once the envelope had tilted to a 45-degree angle. However, the driver did not hear the instruction and continued to advance. This caused the basket to tilt sharply and eventually overturn.
As the basket tipped, several passengers were thrown from the basket onto the ground. During the movement, the burner support structure fell onto a passenger, causing serious injuries that required hospitalization. The vehicle continued to move, dragging the basket across the ground and over the injured passenger until the second ground crew member alerted the driver to stop.