Pilot’s chilling clip of doomed hot air balloon

A pilot who died after his man-made hot air balloon went up in flames shared a chilling clip before the homemade craft “went up like tissue paper”.

Pilot’s chilling clip of doomed homemade hot air balloon. Picture: TikTok/flyingpedro

A pilot who died after his man-made hot air balloon went up in flames shared a video of how he made the craft in just 15 days.

Peter Gregory, 25, was killed in the incident on Sunday morning near the village of Ombersley, Worcestershire in the UK.

The Ryanair pilot experienced a malfunction 900ft in the air causing his homemade craft to go “up like tissue paper”.

Mr Gregory’s family said he was a passionate balloonist who “took one last flight, doing what he loved” when he died.

“On the morning of Sunday June 25, our Pilot Pete took one last flight, doing what he loved,” his family said in a statement released by West Mercia Police.

“Be it in a hot-air balloon or as an airline pilot, Peter’s passion for flying was something his family and friends could only admire and support him towards.

Peter Gregory, 25, died after his homemade hot air balloon ‘went up like tissue paper’ above the village of Ombersley in the UK on Sunday morning. Picture: Instagram

“When he set his heart to something, he’d never give up, he was driven and determined, and one could only watch on in awe.

“We will fly together again soon Pete. We love you, Dan, Mummy, Daddy & Emma.”

Mr Gregory’s death is being investigated by the Air Accidents Investigation Branch (AAIB).

The heartbreaking incident comes as the pilot shared a video on TikTok last year of how he made the craft in just 15 days which involved cutting and sewing 270 panels.

The craft burst into flames mid-air before it crashed into trees at around 6.20am. Picture: SWNS

Under his TikTok account ‘flyingpedro’ Mr Gregory explained he first chose which colours he wanted — being mostly different shades blues an oranges — before cutting all the panels.

“[There] was over 270 in total,” he said. “Next I fold them up and begin to sew.

“This balloon is 16 gores. I begin by putting each gore together individually.

“So far I have spent five days working on it and I have stitched together 11 gores. I also made a big bag to keep it in. I still have a lot of work to do on this!”

He shared a TikTok last year revealing how he made the craft. Picture: TikTok/flyingpedro

He said it took about 15 days to make. Picture: TikTok/flyingpedro

In a follow up clip, which has been viewed more than 5 million times, Mr Gregory shared footage of himself test inflating the balloon alongside the chilling caption: “I built this balloon! What do you think? Who would fly in this??”

In the clip he said he spent 15 days sewing it together before asking again “who would fly in it with me?”

It involved a lot of cutting and stitching. Picture: TikTok/flyingpedro

When one viewer asked how he can trust it, Mr Gregory responded that “the design manufacturing method hasn’t changed much in well over 100 years”.

When another viewer asked about the lower part of the balloon fabric and “how do you make sure it doesn’t catch fire?”, the pilot responded that the bottom part of the balloon “is made from nomex which is fire retardant”.

@flyingpedro I built this balloon! What do you think? Who would fly in this?? #hotairballoon #pilot #fyp #balloon #build #diy ♬ Sunny Day

He then pointed out that it’s made out of the same material as racing drivers.

One witness of the accident told how he was driving down the A449 from Kidderminster to Worcester — a major road near the crash site — when he saw the balloon explode.

“I told my partner to take a picture because the balloons looked lovely. Seconds later one of them burst into flames and plummeted to the ground,” he said.

In another clip he shared footage of himself test inflating it. Picture: TikTok/flyingpedro

The clip has been viewed more than 5 million times with Mr Gregory asking viewers ‘who would fly in this?’ Picture: TikTok/flyingpedro

“Once it caught fire it went up like tissue paper, it was burnt in about ten seconds. We couldn’t believe it. We thought from that height there would definitely be a fatality. It fell like a rocket and shook us up to watch.”

Balloons in the sky before the fatal incident. The weekend saw hundreds enjoying the first ever Worcester Balloon Festival, although Mr Gregory’s craft was not connected to the event. Picture: SWNS

Firefighters, paramedics and police rushed to the scene after receiving a call at around 6.20am on Sunday, but they were unable to save the pilot, who was declared dead at the scene.

Another witness described it as a “fireball” that came from a blue balloon, before it “dropped like a stone”.

“My wife heard terrible screaming and then silence. We called the emergency services but had difficulty getting through on the 999 number because it was down.

“We finally got through but it was just too high for anyone to survive. It was a terrible thing to see.”