ROCHESTER, Minn. – One of three men who survived a hot-air balloon crash into a powerline described the sound of the electricity as “horrifying — like being in a lightning bolt.” In a sit-down KTTC interview, Mark Schafer said he braced himself and thought he was certain to die. Verbatim:
“I took my hands and made a hug I thought whatever was going to happen, I hope it ends quick because I knew I wasn’t going to live through it. There’s no way. I had a sense of peace, like you know, it’s OK.”
The crash was Wednesday on a busy highway south out of Rochester. The balloon pilot, Mike Lesmeister, was attempting to set down in a field when wind caught the balloon. Schafer said he saw the impact coming. Schafer’s stepson, TJ Sorquist, said he kept his eyes open as he braced for impact with the powerline. “A lot of thoughts went through my head,” he said. “I sat back and thought I wasn’t going to make it. But we did.” The impact severed the balloon’s basket carrying the three men. The basket dropped 30 feet to the ground. Schafer’s recollection of what happened next:
“After the fireworks went away, I thought, man, I made it through that. “Now, we’re going to fall. I knew that was coming. That was the worst part of it. My nose was bleeding, and I thought that’s a good thing because it means I’m alive.”
The basket hit the ground and started on fire. The men ran to Highway 63, from where 55 mph motorists had witnessed the crash. “Everyone was trying to talk to us. ‘Are you OK?’ I said, ‘Yea.’ I just wanna go home and take a hot shower.”
Schafer. Still bearing scabs from superficial injures. In the KTTC interview. he said his back and his tailbone were still sore.