Going on a hot air balloon ride may be on your list of exciting experiences to try one day. But after reading this, you may be less willing to fly “up, up and away,” as new research from Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health has revealed the number of hot air balloon crashes and injuries over the past 12 years.

According to the researchers, recent data has shown that in the US, helicopter and fixed-wing commercial air tour operations have high crash rates, compared with commercial aviation operations.

Furthermore, it was found that the number of crashes increases with commercial air tour operations that are less regulated. This has led to public health concerns regarding paid hot air balloon rides, which have significantly less regulation, compared with other commercial air tour operations.

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Over the past 12 years, data shows there have been 78 hot air balloon crashes in the US, resulting in 91 serious injuries and five fatalities.

“We found that air tour flights have relatively high crash rates compared to similar commercial operations,” Sarah-Blythe Ballard, of the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health and first author of the study, told Medical News Today.

“After looking at the data more closely, we found that the less regulated sightseeing flights conducted under Code of Federal Regulations Part 91 crashed significantly more often than their more regulated Part 135 counterparts. This finding made us wonder about the safety of sightseeing flights conducted in even less regulated aircraft, such as balloons.”

Therefore, the researchers analyzed data from National Transportation Safety Board reports regarding hot air balloon tour crashes in the US between 2000 and 2011.

From this, the researchers found that there were 78 hot air balloon crashes during this period, involving 518 people. Of these, 91 people sustained serious injuries and five people died.

Overall, 83% of crashes led to one or more serious or fatal outcomes. Of the serious injuries, 56% were “lower extremity” fractures.

Looking at how the crashes occurred, it was found that 81% happened during the landing of the balloons, of which 65% involved hard landings. Fixed-object collisions with trees, buildings, power lines or the ground caused 50% of serious injuries and all five of the fatalities.

Poor outcomes were associated with gondola dragging, tipping, bouncing and occupant ejections during landing sequences.

Of the crashes that resulted in serious injuries or fatalities, 20% of the hot air balloons were severely damaged or completely destroyed.

Ballard told Medical News Today that these findings are important because they identify safety risks associated with hot air balloon tour crashes, which in turn guide the development of interventions that will decrease injuries and deaths associated with hot air balloon rides.

She added:

For example, this study shows that lower extremity fractures, such as broken legs and ankles, comprised over half of the serious injuries that occurred during the study period.

This suggests that interventions that reduce landing forces, such as cushions or restraint systems, might have a role in reducing balloon-associated injuries. Similarly, we found that 80% of balloon-associated deaths in this study were associated with occupant ejection from the gondola. Thus, improving restraint systems to prevent passenger ejection could also save lives.”

Ballard noted that for hot air balloon ride pilots, passengers, manufacturers and regulators, it is important not only to be aware of the risks involved in this activity, but also to take steps toward improving balloon safety.

Leland P. Beaty, data analyst at the Injury Center and co-author of the study, says that a more standardized reporting of hot air balloon crashes would also help in creating interventions aimed at reducing the number and severity of balloon crash injuries, as well as improving the public health impact of less regulated commercial air tour operations.

Earlier this year, Medical News Today reported on a study revealing that military pilots who fly at high altitudes have more brain lesions.