ENUMCLAW, Wash. — Three thousand feet up, just after dawn on a recent morning, McKenna Secrist reached over the rim of a metal-framed wicker gondola and released a handful of popcorn to test the wind. Instead of drifting down with gravity, the little white kernels lofted up, up and away, revealing the flow of air, and the descent rate of her balloon as she prepared to land.

“Every balloon flight is an adventure because you use the winds to navigate where you want to go,” she said. “In a balloon you’re also moving so slowly, and you have like a 360-degree-view of the world, and it really gives you perspective.”

Ms. Secrist, 21, is one of the youngest commercial hot air balloon pilots in the nation. She caught the ballooning bug early, she said, before she can even remember. She started volunteering on a support crew at age 9 and bought her own balloon at 15 with savings and some help from her parents. She got a commercial license at 18.

Longtime balloon enthusiasts hope that she is the vanguard of a new wave of interest in a sport that is threatened by the graying out of an older generation who embraced ballooning in its last big wave of growth in the 1960s and ’70s…

Read the full article on the NY TIMES site

A hot air balloon rescue? Are you kidding me?

If you are thinking. That’s absurd. We’ll… it is. Without the video, I’m not sure any of us would have believed this story! Here’s the deal. Hot air balloons aren’t ever used for rescue operations, as they are officially unsteerable aircraft and only use the winds to change direction. Somehow, Pilot Eliav was able to pull off this rescue with skill, style, and a ton of luck!

The Emergency Situation

Geeneva Moraandarte and Roman Jackson, a young couple from Olympia Washington, had launched their small blowup raft at Metzler park and were headed downstream toward Green River Meats. After 3 hours of being on the river, sunset rapidly approaching, sunburnt, losing their shoes, and breaking their cell phones, they were in a lot of trouble. The two pulled their little inflatable raft to the side of the Green River in hopes of finding a way back to civilization.

Right now, you are probably thinking… wait… Is that the same Green River where the Green River Killer was? Yup…

Seattle Hot Air Balloon Team

The Seattle Ballooning hot air balloon ride team launched three hot air balloons an hour before sunset from Norman Greer Airstrip in Convington, Washington- just 25 minutes from Seattle. It was 89 degrees out, and the balloons were carrying a full load of passengers. One balloon had a pilot plus 4 couples, another provided a private flight for a 10th wedding anniversary, and the last balloon carried a group of 10 passengers. Eliav was flying the largest of the three balloons, a 225k cubic foot 10 story tall hot air balloon.

Hot Air Balloons Take Flight

After launching, the balloons caught a 13kt wind at 2300 feet going slightly SE. Mount Rainier was clear of clouds, passengers were getting epic photos, and the balloon ride operation was going perfectly. As the hot air balloons reached the cliffs of the Green River Valley, they dropped down to treetop level.

The ridge on the side of the valley filled with 100ft tall trees provided a nice wind block slowing the speed of the balloons to 7kts. River valleys often allow hot air balloons to catch orographic winds. Orographic winds occur in valleys and allow balloons to often make 90-degree directional changes. Close to sunset, the wind in the Green River typically flows Easternly as the Cascade Mountains start to cool down. As the mountain temperatures cool, the air in the valley gets sucked in toward them and creates a steerable environment for hot air balloons. Up at altitude (2000-5000 ft), there was a consistent Southernly wind at 11-16kts. Between the winds aloft and the valley winds, the balloons had approx 115 degrees of turn. Meaning on the valley surface, they would float Easternly, and at altitude, would float SW slightly.

Splash and Dash

The wind had slowed as Pilot Eliav came over the trees on the Northside of the Green River. He asked his passengers if they were okay with getting their feet wet and doing a splash and dash on the river. A splash and dash in a hot air balloon is when a balloon comes down to a body of water and touches the bottom of the basket to water. Pilots need to be careful of a few things when performing a splash and dash:

1. Aware of possible obstacles. Fingerlings of trees won’t hut the balloon fabric, but dead or sharp tree branches will. Although most leafy trees won’t hurt balloon fabric, you don’t want the balloon’s fabric to touch large branches. The only time balloon pilots are trained to touch trees is on faster wind landings. Balloon pilots in faster wind landing situations are trained to drag the basket portion through the foliage to slow the balloon’s speed, helping pilots make slower landings.

2. If the basket goes too deep into the water, there will be a lot of added weight! The pilot will need to increase the heat in the balloon to compensate for the additional load.

3. When doing splash and dashes in rivers, it’s essential to realize that the river flow will move the balloon downstream.

The Hot Air Balloon Rescue

Pilot Eliav slowly descended the balloon next to some deciduous trees and floated effortlessly 5 feet from the rushing water. It was at that moment that pilot Eliav heard calls for help. There were a few things that needed immediate assessment. Where the people on the side of the river in actual need of emergency help? Could the balloon pick up the additional weight without over-temping the envelope? And was there enough time to rescue them without putting the balloon in danger? After a quick assessment of the entire situation, Eliav lowered the balloon to the water’s surface and called the couple over to quickly jump in the basket.

The young couple waded through the rushing water to the balloon basket. As the young lady climbed into the pilot compartment, Pilot Eliav hit the burner for 10 seconds to increase the balloon’s lift. The basket at that point had an inch or two of water on the floor and was starting to move with the current. The second passenger jumped into one of the passenger compartments, and Eliav laid on both 20M BTU burners to compensate for the additional load. The heat was enough to get the balloon into a 400 feet per minute climb- quickly clearing the 100ft tall trees on the Southside of the Green River.

Rescued! Safe And Sound

Eliav increased the ascent rate to 600 feet per minute and leveled off at 1750 feet catching an 8KT Southwesternly wind. The other two balloons had already landed a mile up ahead. He eyed their designated landing location, navigated the balloon, and landed the balloon softly on the fresh-cut grass just 150 feet from the other two balloons. Another perfect balloon landing.

After deflating the balloons, the group celebrated with ice-cold waters and some delicious champagne. It was quite the hot air balloon ride! The passengers were excited to be part of a once-in-a-lifetime hot air balloon ride rescue operation, and the stranded couple was thankful that the balloon was at the right place at the right time in order save them.

In responding to folks on Tiktok and FB, Eliav Said, “It was my pleasure to help! I fly hot air balloons because I love them. Having the opportunity to help some stranded people in a potentially dangerous situation using my hot air balloon, that’s a check off my bucket list.”

Hot Air Balloon Assisted Rescue In 2020

In July of 2020, two of Seattle Ballooning’s hot air balloons assisted with the rescue of some Kayakers who were injured on the White River. The winds were moving too swiftly to go down and help, but they worked with emergency personal to help locate the kayakers. One of the funniest communications with emergency services was when they asked if we could go back and pick them up. Pilot Mckenna Secrist responded, “Balloons have a decent amount of steerage, but all the wind is going South… you do know there is no steering wheel on a balloon, right?”

What did the passengers on the flight think of being part of a hot air balloon rescue operation?

Samantha Walsh said it best, “What an amazing experience! As well as an outstanding pilot. To get that close to the water, keep the balloon stable, and rescue those kids. Hats of to you!”

Most likely, this type of hot air balloon ride rescue operation won’t occur again. The evacuation took perfect timing, perfect location, a professional skillset, and a massive amount of luck. Pilot Eliav can often be heard saying, “Skills are important, but take luck where you can find it!”

If you are inspired by the article, you can book a flight or get a gift certificate for a loved one for this summer.

Click here to learn more about the Seattle Ballooning hot air balloon ride experience

Click here to learn more about our pilots

Click here to learn more about a hot air balloon ride near me and other interesting faqs

Thank you for voting!

We would like to thank our friends, family, guests, and the Seattle community for helping us in being voted the best hot air balloon ride in The Northwest. Providing extraordinary experiences and customer service has been our priority from day one.

As a special thank you to our community for supporting us, we’ve created a holiday special through Valentines Day. You can buy a gift certificate at a 15%-30% discount through Feb 14th, 2017, and give your loved one a ride with the best hot air balloon company in Washington and the entire NW. The recipient at a later date can use our online booking system to book their hot air balloon flight online.

Seattle Ballooning is located in Burien, Washington, and is the only hot air balloon company that flies directly in front of Mt. Rainier in the Enumclaw Valley. They provide private and semi-private luxury hot air balloon rides for people celebrating their anniversary, birthday, graduation, engagement, or folks who want to check hot air ballooning off their bucket list. Seattle Ballooning also has 5 stars on Yelp, Facebook, Google, Bing, and TripAdvisor. Seattle Ballooning’s main season is May – October.