ALBUQUERQUE (KRQE) -- Four people on a commercial hot-air balloon flight were injured Saturday when a "splash and dash" in the Rio Grande went wrong, according to the Albuquerque Fire Department.
None of the injuries is believed to be serious. A total of eight people were aboard the flight; three were taken to hospitals for evaluation.
The injuries were mostly bumps and bruises with one possibly a broken ankle, said Scott Appelman, the owner of Rainbow Ryders, which operated the flight.
A statement from the Albuquerque Police Department attributed the mishap about a mile north of Montaño Road to some type of malfunction.
The splash-and-dash maneuver involves lowering the flight path of a hot-air balloon to just nip the river before igniting the gas burners to regain altitude and continue the flight.
