Aloft Festival Balloons Make for Interesting Landings

Everyone loves to see the balloons take off from the Aloft festival in Simpsonville. Not everyone is so thrilled with the landings, however.

Unlike motorized aircraft, hot-air balloons tend to be at the mercy of the wind and Mother Nature. So sometimes you gotta land where you gotta land.

A pair of Upstate farmers were angered on Sunday after four of the balloons from Aloft landed in their fenced pasture, spooking 31 cows and causing 13 expensive, pregnant and very-freaked-out cows to escape and damage a fence in the process, WYFF reported.

The cows were rounded up 36 hours later, farmers Jenny and David Landreth said. They said the balloons landed in the field without their permission.

Aloft officials said pilots typically seek permission in advance for places to land, but sometimes are forced to land elsewhere due to the prevailing winds.

Monday evening's flight included a balloon landing in Simsonville's Five Forks Plantation neighborhood. Aloft officials said Fire and EMS responded to the scene because a neighbor called it in but there was no crash and the balloon made a normal landing. 

"The pilots maneuver their balloons toward a general target for landing but the exact site tends difficult to predict," said Aloft Executive Director Cindy Nelson, "That can make for an exciting experience when a family sees a balloon land in their backyard."