Thunder & Colt 160 (Hot Air Balloon), VH-HKK, Belford State Forest (Hunter Valley) NSW, 1 April 1988

After landing in a sheltered gully, the pilot became concerned that the retrieval crew might not have access to the area. He therefore elected to proceed to another area about 3 kilometres away. At this location, a landing was carried out in 10 knot wind conditions. The basket made a hard flat contact with the ground, before being pulled over on its side by the deflating balloon canopy and the wind. Because of the possibility of the balloon making contact with a fence during the landing, the pilot had instructed all passengers to squat below the edge of the basket, which possibly made their stance for the landing unstable. One passenger received a fractured ankle when her leg twisted under her as the basket rolled over.