Hot air balloon lands in Hawthorn front yard
A hot air balloon has made an unscheduled landing in the front garden of a Hawthorn home, in Melbourne's inner east.
Emergency authorities guided the balloon down between power lines on the Auburn Street property.
The ballooning company says wind conditions were very light and the pilot decided to land while he still had fuel.
There were 10 passengers on board and the balloon had been flying for around two hours.
The owner of the ballooning company, Damien Crock, denies it was an emergency landing, insisting it was a 'highly controlled' operation.
"The pilot has decided to land while he's still got plenty of fuel," he told the ABC.
"Obviously the pilot chose the safest possible thing to do.
"As far as I know at this stage there was no declared emergency, but he has chosen to land there this morning."
