Hot Air Balloon Makes Emergency Landing On Side Of Nashville Interstate
By Sarah Tate
October 1, 2021
A group of people on a hot air balloon were flying high above Middle Tennessee Friday morning (October 1) when they had to make a sudden landing off the side of Interstate 24 in Rutherford County. No injuries were reported.
According to the Tennessee Highway Patrol, the balloon ran out of fuel around 9 a.m. and had to make an emergency landing at the junction of I-24 and I-840, WKRN reports.
A spokesperson for the Tennessee Department of Transportation (TDOT) said the hot air balloon landing on the side of I-24 East never blocked the road. The TDOT Help Truck responded to the scene along with the Tennessee Highway Patrol and Rutherford County Sheriff's Office.
A hot air balloon ran out of hot air this morning and landed in a grassy area on the side of I-24E in Rutherford Co. The road was never blocked, but a TDOT Help truck, THP and the Rutherford Co. Sheriff's Office responded. pic.twitter.com/ad5O2NJ507
— Rebekah Hammonds (@RebekahTDOT) October 1, 2021
Despite the emergency landing, the occupants on the balloon seemed to have a good time, including Tiffany Kennerly Horton who was celebrating her birthday.
"It was a good time. We went up on a hot air balloon for my birthday," said Horton. "We met some wonderful people, Captain Jack was great and our choices was to land by the interstate or in a cornfield so we chose the better option of the two. It was a blast. We had fun."
Mike and Dorothy Russell were also onboard Friday celebrating their own special occasion – their 24th anniversary.
"They said there were people calling 911, the news calling, everybody thinking we'd crashed on the side of the interstate but we just needed a place to land. So it's where we landed."