Hot air balloon crash, Sep 8, 1850 (1 killed), Bordeaux
Hot air balloon accident on September 8, 1850 near Bordeaux, France (ascent from the Vincennes hippodrome; body found in a wood several miles away),...
- Date: September 8, 1850
- Aircraft: Hot air balloon
- Location: Bordeaux, France (ascent from the Vincennes hippodrome; body found in a wood several miles away), France
- Fatalities: 1
- Phase of flight: Approach and landing
- Cause: Sources differ. One account blames the ground handlers releasing the ropes too early; another blames the anchor giving way.
English aeronaut George Burcher Gale was killed at Bordeaux during a demonstration in which he rode a pony suspended beneath a hot air balloon. After the pony was released the balloon rose again with Gale still holding its ropes, and he fell. His body was found the next morning in a wood several miles away.