A hot air balloon carrying 13 people made an unexpected emergency landing in the backyard of a Southern California home.
The massive balloon, which held a pilot and several passengers, touched down gracefully on a small patch of grass at a residence in Temecula on Saturday. Homeowner Hunter Perrin said he had no clue anything was happening until a neighbor tipped him off.
“I was relaxing in front of the TV, and my wife was doing yoga,” Perrin told AP. “Suddenly, a man was standing at my front door saying, ‘They just landed.’ I was totally baffled.”
But sure enough, there they were—a nervous group of people visibly relieved to be back on solid ground. The grassy area where they landed measures only about 10 feet (3 meters) across.
“It felt unreal, like a scene from a Disney fairy tale,” said Jenna Perrin. “The balloon missed our house and trees completely. It was just grazing the fence.”
Brianna Avalos and her husband were on the balloon ride to mark their 10th wedding anniversary. She said the pilot told everyone he had to make an emergency landing because fuel was running low and wind patterns had shifted.
“At first I thought, ‘Oh my gosh! We’re in someone’s backyard! This is insane!’” Avalos recalled to KABC-TV. The eye-catching blue balloon, decorated with gold stars and a crescent moon, loomed over the Perrins’ house as it came to a stop.
The pilot helped all passengers off, lifted off again, and then set the balloon down on a nearby street, where it was taken apart.
“He was an incredible pilot,” Avalos added.
Denni Barrett, owner of Magical Adventure—the company operating the balloon ride—did not reveal the pilot’s name but said he “used excellent judgment” and “made the right call.”
“Most of our landings happen in wine country,” Barrett noted, referring to the vineyards of Riverside County. “Usually the backyards are bigger there.”
