Participating In Gordon Bennett Balloon Race
Longtime balloonist Richard Abruzzo is recovering in a Garden
City, KS hospital today following 5-hour surgery on a shattered
wrist, among the injuries he suffered after falling approximately
15 feet from the gondola of his gas balloon Sunday night.
Abruzzo (file photo, above) was participating in the 49th Coupe
Aeronatique Gordon Bennett gas balloon race, an event that first
occurred in 1906, and is being held alongside the more recent
America's Challenge Gas Balloon Race this year. Both events began
Saturday night as gas balloons lifted off from Albuquerque, NM, in
conjunction with that city's annual balloon fiesta. The goal in
both races is to fly the farthest possible from the starting
point.
Initially all was well for Abruzzo's balloon, USA-1, after
lifting off Saturday evening. However, according to media reports
the balloon encountered strong downdrafts over western Kansas,
causing the balloon to descend rapidly and then become entangled in
power lines outside of Kendall. While he was attempting to free the
balloon from the lines, Abruzzo fell out of the gondola, causing
the balloon to ascend rapidly with copilot Carol Rymer Davis still
onboard.
After reportedly soaring to nearly 14,000 feet, Rymer Davis was
able to land the balloon approximately 10 miles from where Abruzzo
fell. She was not injured in the incident.
Besides his wrist,
Abruzzo also suffered a broken pelvis and displaced ribs in the
fall.
"After the accident, we had an enormous sense of relief when I
got word that he was going to be OK and I heard his voice,"
Abruzzo's wife, Nancy, told the Albuquerque Journal. "With this
adventurous sport there is always a concern. Right now, we feel
that he is very lucky, and we are thankful for all of the wonderful
thoughts and prayers we have received."
Abruzzo is expected to return home in a few days, and his wife
fully expects him to be back in the air as soon as possible. "I
know my husband, he will be back in a balloon ... He doesn't need
my approval," she said.
"These are all injuries that he will recover from, but this is
going to be a long haul. I know his spirit and this is something
that drives him and makes him tick."
Saturday morning, Abruzzo attended the opening of the
Anderson/Abruzzo Albuquerque International Ballooning
Museum, co- named after his father Ben.