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Albuquerque, new mexico -- a hot air balloon crashes into a 700-foot radio tower, leaving the pilot and his two young passengers dangling from above with little hope for survival. bill chappell is a retired forester with the u.s. forest service. for the past 15 years, he's piloted a hot air balloon modeled after smokey bear, the consummate symbol of fire prevention. >> 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 ...

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 course by a 60-mile-an-hour blast of wind. >> there's smokey up there. >> despite bill's desperate efforts, there's no way to avoid a 700-foot radio transmission tower. >> my first thought was to get over it. i had no option except to go up. can't steer a balloon. >> bill fires his burners past their safety limit, trying in vain to fight the wind, but he can't rise fast en...

Modeled after smokey bear, the consummate symbol of fire prevention. >> 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 like any other day. 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-...

Consummate symbol of fire prevention. >> 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 like any other day. 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...

Prevention. >> 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 like any other day. 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...