Sudden balloon landing surprises homeowners

A Colorado Springs couple didn’t get their usual sunrise view Friday morning.

A hot air balloon landed in the northeast side of the Springs.

Madera and Miranda drives are usually pretty quiet.

Except, when there are ten people and a deflated hot-air balloon in a driveway.

“Never had one land in our yard. We’ve seen them go over us, land down at Keller Park,” said Bob Schoonmaker, a resident on Madera Drive. “But we’ve never had one land in our yard.”

Schoonmaker didn’t even know he had sudden visitors. He was in a different part of his house, before he saw the balloon around 7:30 Friday morning.

In fact, he hadn’t seen the landing until we showed him video from KRDO Newschannel 13 viewer Jeanne Clark.

“I walked into the kitchen, the curtain was down. But I could see through the curtain this line of eight or 10 people with their backs to me, and I thought, ‘What was that?'”

Keep in mind, Schoonmaker is a hot air balloon enthusiast.

“We’ve gone to the Colorado Springs Balloon Festival almost every year since we’ve lived here,” he said.

So instead of startled, “We came out and said, ‘Hi! Welcome!'”

The company in charge of the balloon was closed when KRDO tried to call, but no one was injured in the landing.