29-05-2025
Hydrogen balloon heading for Europe makes emergency landing in P.E.I.
Three crew members are safe after a hydrogen air balloon on a transatlantic flight path had to make an emergency landing in Prince Edward Island.
"It is with a heavy heart that we have to inform you that The Torabhaig Atlantic Explorer Balloon has been forced to land ... with a suspected gas leak," reads a post on the Torabhaig Atlantic Explorer Flight Control Facebook page.
The balloon landed in a swamp near Cardigan, on P.E.I.'s east coast, where crew members became stuck, said the Halifax-based Joint Rescue Co-ordination Centre (JRCC).
The rescue centre said a local EMS team treated one crew member for minor injuries, and all three are safe.
JRCC is no longer involved after assessing the situation, the centre told CBC News.
The Torabhaig Atlantic Explorer was aiming to be the first craft of its kind to cross the Atlantic Ocean, according to the group's website.
A post on the site said the balloon, "piloted by Bert Padelt and co-piloted by Peter Cuneo and Alicia Hempleman-Adams, will take flight as part of an audacious adventure of old friends on a journey that will look for new scientific discoveries while aiming to become the first ever flight of an open basket hydrogen balloon across the Atlantic."
The project's website said the balloon took off from Presque Isle, Maine, on May 24.
"Their route will take them from Maine over Newfoundland, Canada, across the Atlantic Ocean, and then Ireland and Scottish waters before landing in Europe, traversing over many thousands of miles," the site said.
TSB assessing situation
The Transportation Safety Board of Canada has been made aware of the landing and is collecting data and assessing the incident, the federal agency confirmed.
RCMP were called to assist, but are no longer involved as there is no investigation, police said.
In the hour before the emergency landing, many Prince Edward Islanders noted the white aircraft in the sky and posted photos and questions about it on social media.
