CHP investigating hot-air balloon parachutists

Four parachutists who jumped out of a hot-air balloon in Santa Rosa may have broken federal laws, according to the California Highway Patrol.

A CHP officer was at a Caltrans yard when he saw someone descending in a parachute in the sky north of Highway 12 near Merced Avenue about 8:30 a.m. Tuesday, said CHP Officer Jonathan Sloat.

“The officer noted that there was a hot-air balloon at a higher altitude” and then saw three more people jumping from it, Sloat said.

Officers contacted one of the jumpers, a 46-year-old Oregon man, after he had landed on private property. The man told the CHP that he didn’t know the name of the balloon company, Sloat said.

The other parachutists were last seen running through a field, while the balloon was spotted heading toward Sebastopol, Sloat said.

The parachutist stopped by the CHP was not arrested. Officers, however, were investigating whether the group had violated any federal regulations, including jumping from a balloon “without the proper safety equipment” and not having a designated and secured landing zone, Sloat said.

via – SFGate.