What happened
On 12 July 2026, the pilot of a Cameron Balloons Sport-90 flew solo from Rainbow, Victoria, toward Hay, New South Wales. After about four hours in flight, the pilot descended to land in an open agricultural area. The basket lay over and dragged farther than expected while the envelope deflated, and the envelope was pulled across a barbed-wire fence. The ATSB occurrence brief reports substantial tears to the envelope and a dislocated finger sustained by the pilot. The ATSB did not conduct an investigation and did not independently verify the notification details.