Hot air balloon pilot lands along Pierce Co. highway, parallel parks at Costco
A hot air balloon pilot parallel parked in a Bonney Lake parking lot Wednesday morning for two reasons: there was an open spot and for Costco hot dogs.
The balloon took off in the morning just before sunrise with a pilot from Seattle Ballooning and some passengers. Eliav Cohen, chief pilot at the business, said they typically do a sunrise and sunset tour every day. They also do rides in front of Mount Rainier.
Cohen was piloting a second balloon. He said the pilot in the balloon that landed in Bonney Lake flew above the northeast side of the plateau above Enumclaw. He flew over the Green River, then the White River. The pilot planned to fly over Kelley Farm in Bonney Lake, but ended up taking a detour toward the Costco near 204th Avenue East.
“Balloons only use the winds for steerage,” Cohen told The News Tribune during a phone call.
Cohen said hot air balloon pilots have limited control over where the landing spot will be, and have to find an area free of power lines and other obstacles.
After Cohen landed his own balloon and deflated it, he drove over to the lot to see where his colleague landed his balloon. Cohen said their balloons have landed about ten times in the past five years in the parking lot.
“All of our pilots have the skills and training to land in more congested areas,” Cohen said.
It took about ten minutes to deflate the balloon after it landed. According to Cohen, the pilot said that he had a Costco membership and figured he would get some hot dogs. The passengers also had memberships, and ended up doing the same thing. They also drank some champagne.
Cohen said nothing else was touched when the balloon parallel parked between two cars. It is protocol for them to reach out to a non-emergency number to let them know they will be landing in a parking lot. Cohen said a Bonney Lake Police Department officer watched the pilot parallel park the balloon between two cars.
“The officer goes, ‘I just want to see this,’” according to Cohen.
Cohen said the entire operation was normal and safe. The balloons are usually going about two-miles-per hour.
