R.I.P.

Hot Air Balloon Pilot Falls to His Death in Vermont

Brian Boland, 72, became entangled in his balloon’s gear before falling to the ground.

A hot air balloon pilot fell to his death Thursday afternoon after taking off with several passengers. Brian Boland, 72, became entangled in the gear under the balloon’s basket as it ascended and then fell to his death in a field near Bradford, Vermont, according to state police. After Boland fell, the balloon drifted into trees about a mile and a half away. The passengers on the ride were unharmed, though one of them had fallen a short distance from the basket to the ground as the balloon descended prior to Boland’s accident. In his decades of experience piloting the aircraft, Boland had also invented collapsable baskets.