Man killed in hot-air ballooning accident was clutching cables as balloon rose
MONTREAL – Quebec provincial police say a man killed in a hot-air ballooning accident was clutching cables from the balloon as he tried to help it land.
Sgt. Joyce Kemp says Maxime Trepanier was on the ground holding on to the cables and investigators are trying to determine why he didn’t let go.
Trepanier was taking part in festivities at the 30th edition of a popular balloon festival in St-Jean-sur-Richelieu when the incident happened.
Transportation Safety Board spokesman Chris Krepski says Trepanier was helping the balloon land in nearby Mont-St-Gregoire early Sunday morning when the accident happened.
He said ground crew were helping to reposition the balloon as it ascended over a line of nearby trees in order to land in a nearby field.
Krepski says winds were light on the ground but stronger at altitude.
Kemp says there is nothing to suggest anything criminal or any negligence in the incident.
Trepanier, 27, was known as an experienced balloon pilot who had been involved in the balloon festival since he was a child.
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