Hot-Air Balloon Hits Hard; Killing One

One person died and two were injured Monday when their hot-air balloon tour ended with a hard landing that threw them from the gondola.

The pilot, with nine clients aboard, was attempting to land in a field when the gondola bounced three times, tilting and knocking three passengers out, witnesses said.

The two injured passengers were treated at a hospital and released.

Bob Barbarick, a spokesman for Napa-based Balloons Above the Valley, said he didn’t know the reason for the hard landing.