The incident, which left two people trapped in the basket until they were rescued by first responders, has now entered a slow and technical recovery phase.
LONGVIEW, Texas — A specialized tower repair crew spent Sunday securing and preparing to remove a hot air balloon basket that became lodged near the top of a 900‑foot cell tower after a dramatic crash Saturday morning.
The incident, which left two people trapped in the basket until they were rescued by first responders, has now entered a slow and technical recovery phase as crews work to safely dismantle what remains of the balloon and ensure the tower suffered no structural damage.
Nathan Wilson, a contractor with Tower King — the North Texas company brought in to handle the recovery — said Sunday’s work focused on rigging the tower so crews can begin lowering debris beginning Monday morning.
“We rigged the tower with wire rope from the ground up to the top,” Wilson said. “That’s going to allow us to safely handle all the material on the tower as well as get men up and down.”
Wilson said wind was a factor Sunday, slowing movement on the tower but not stopping progress.
“The wind was somewhat of an issue today, but that’s pretty common with tower work,” he said. “You just take your time and mitigate any issues you come across as the day goes on.”
From the ground, the balloon basket looked still. But Wilson said at that elevation, subtle movement matters.
“It was catching some wind and doing some twists,” he said. “Maybe not quite what you’d think, but enough that we needed to secure it well.”
Crews lashed the basket to a tower leg multiple times both horizontally and vertically to keep it from shifting overnight. Wilson said securing the onboard propane tanks was a top priority.
Monday’s work will focus on bringing the basket — and the shredded remains of the balloon — down in sections using a pulley‑based rigging system.
“It’ll be an all‑day process,” Wilson said. “You can’t rush these kinds of things. We hope to make good progress, but we plan to get most of the materials off by the end of the day.”
Workers will use a man basket positioned on the tower to move materials down the steel wire rope system. Using cutting tools, they plan to remove the balloon’s fabric in sections, wrap and lash it tightly, and load it into the basket before lowering it to the ground.
Wilson emphasized safety, especially with the presence of fuel tanks.
“It’s not going to change the way we approach things,” he said. “We take material handling on a tower real seriously. We’re going to maintain 100% tie‑off with all the men and tether all materials during the whole process.”
Crews plan to resume operations around 7 to 7:30 a.m. Monday.
Once the balloon and basket are removed, Tower King crews will inspect the tower to determine whether the impact caused any damage.
Wilson said they expect the overall structure to be sound but noted that smaller components may have been affected.
“You might have some small, more delicate antennas that sustained damage,” he said. “But the tower structure itself seems to be in good condition.”