Gas balloon Empress crash, Nov 2, 1899 (1 killed), Lancas...
Gas balloon Empress accident on November 2, 1899 near Lancaster Park, Christchurch, then sea off Port Levy, Lyttelton Harbour, New Zealand with 1...
- Date: November 2, 1899
- Aircraft: Gas balloon Empress
- Location: Lancaster Park, Christchurch, then sea off Port Levy, Lyttelton Harbour, New Zealand
- Fatalities: 1
- Phase of flight: En route
- Cause: The balloon was carried out to sea after launch. No mechanical cause is recorded.
The aeronaut Captain Charles Lorraine ascended from Lancaster Park in Christchurch in the gas balloon Empress. The balloon drifted over the Port Hills and out to sea, and came down in the sea off Port Levy at the eastern head of Lyttelton Harbour. He was presumed drowned and his body was never found.