What happened
On December 2, 2006, at approximately 08:00 UTC, a Cameron N-145 hot air balloon departed from Bad Waltersdorf, Austria, for a non-commercial recreational flight. The crew consisted of the pilot and four passengers. The flight proceeded on a north-northeast course through the Bucklige Welt region.
As the balloon approached the municipality of Hochneukirchen-Gschaidt around 10:00 UTC, the pilot and another nearby balloon pilot decided to initiate landing procedures due to deteriorating visibility and increasing wind speeds beneath the fog layer. During the descent, the balloon struck a 20-kilovolt overhead power line running perpendicular to the flight path. The impact damaged all three energized lines.
Following the collision, the balloon underwent an emergency landing. The basket struck an embankment along a road, slid across the pavement, and hit a nearby field with significant force before tipping over. While the occupants remained inside the basket, the impact resulted in two serious injuries and two minor injuries.