it s a lot of fun. we all have a grand time doing it. it s a good excuse to be a kid again. and at the same time, preventing fires. but during a 2004 flight at the albuquerque international balloon fiesta, ironically it s the friendly face of smokey bear at the center of a catastrophe. well, it was the last day of the fiesta here. the weather was as predictable as it could be. they had predicted calm breezes and that s the way it started. bill has two young passengers in his balloon, 14-year-old troy wells and 10-year-old aaron whitaker. on that particular morning, we had what you call microbursts or wind shears that just come out of nowhere. a sudden wind that just fouled everything up that morning. a spectator on the ground captures the moment when the smokey balloon is driven off
how do you climb down such a long ladder? it was a long haul. i m getting a little weak in the knees, but we did it, and these kids were an inspiration. they did fine. nothing like terra firma, i tell you, the safety of the crew, the safety of the arms. we were all crying and just glad to be alive. bill presents both boys with a smokey bear pin as a tribute to their courage. meanwhile, 10-year-old aaron whitaker is shaken but in good spirits. will you ever fly again? probably when i m older. a couple years away, yeah, probably. but this year, no. sir, what about you? you betcha. you bet, yep. i can t wait two years. i m getting too old to wait. thanks to a nationwide fund-raising effort, bill launches a brand new smokey balloon in 2005, less than a year after the accident.