TEMECULA, Calif. — In a startling scene captured on video, a hot air balloon made an unexpected descent into the backyard of a Temecula residence in Riverside County. The homeowners, Hunter and Jenna Perrin, shared their extraordinary experience with ABC affiliate KABC.
What was meant to be a routine hot air balloon journey for 13 passengers took an unexpected detour on Saturday morning, culminating in an unanticipated landing right amidst the Perrins’ backyard.
Hunter Perrin recounted the moment of surprise. He was engrossed in watching TV at around 8:30 a.m. when a knock on the door broke his concentration. It was his neighbor, delivering a message that seemed almost too surreal to believe.
“I go and answer the door. This guy’s like, ‘They just landed in your backyard!’” Hunter recalled. His initial reaction was one of disbelief, “And I’m like, ‘What!?’”
Rushing to see for themselves, Hunter, along with his wife Jenna, stepped outside to witness the unexpected spectacle. As Hunter opened the sliding glass door, the sight before him was astonishing—there was a hot air balloon basket with thirteen people right in their backyard.
Hunter praised the pilot’s skillful maneuvering, noting, “The pilot, he was masterful. He got it right down inside, like directly into the backyard, where there was nothing. The balloon didn’t catch on anything. No one was injured.”
The homeowners say the hot air balloon pilot told them the wind died, forcing him to make an emergency landing.
“You can kind of see in the video of how they came in. He kind of plopped straight down and was moving very slowly,” Perrin said.
“And I run to the backyard, and there’s a whole group of people that are just waving at me,” Jenna said. “And I’m like, ‘Oh my God. So the sound I heard was the flames?!’ And I’m like… hi!’”
Incredibly, there was no damage in the backyard and no one was injured.
KABC spoke to one of the passengers about the moments that led up to the emergency landing.
“At first I was like, ‘Oh my God! We’re in a backyard! This is crazy!’” said hot air balloon passenger Brianna Avalos.
Avalos and her husband were taking their first hot air balloon ride to celebrate their 10th anniversary. As they started approaching the neighborhood, Avalos says the pilot made an announcement.
“He said there’s not enough wind, because the wind kind of like, stopped a little bit. And he was like, ‘We’re going to land.’ And we only had a little bit of fuel left,” Avalos said.
Neighbors gathered in the street to watch.
“He was trying to get us to the street, but we couldn’t get to the street in time, so we landed in the people’s backyard safe and sound, like no one’s hurt, everyone’s great. He was an amazing pilot!” Avalos said.
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