The U.S. Open at Erin Hills saw some unexpected drama Thursday with a blimp crashing near the course. It appears that the blimp is this AirSign one with sponsor PenFed Credit Union. There was one person on board, who has been reported as “alert and conscious and evacuated by helicopter. Here’s a video of the crash:
#USOpen blimp going down on fire. pic.twitter.com/cRAX4apE7R
— Drez (@AaronDrez) June 15, 2017
Update: FS1’s U.S. Open broadcast finally covered the story just before 1:30 p.m. Eastern, with remarkable aerial footage of the fire:
And here’s an aerial photo of the wreckage, via Busted Coverage:
Here’s a description of what happened from 16-year-old Hunter Guetzke, who was on the scene:
16-year-old Hunter Guetkze saw the blimp go down with his dad, describes what happened. pic.twitter.com/P1l32VhVrA
— Kevin Van Valkenburg (@KVanValkenburg) June 15, 2017
“It started on fire at that point, in the air. …It continued to deflate, and basically just dropped straight down to the ground. And once it was on the ground, it exploded two or three times.”
The crash produced plenty of smoke, visible from the U.S. Open course:
US Open blimp just went down and crashed in the woods @usopengolf @NoLayingUp @TronCarterNLU pic.twitter.com/zug9BnfqD3
— Joe Clark (@JoeClarkGolf) June 15, 2017
Another Twitter user said they saw the pilot parachute out:
Just got to the #USOpen and the blimp caught fire and crashed. People parachuted out. pic.twitter.com/1lDi3VkXCu
— madison seigworth (@msiggyy) June 15, 2017
National advertising company AirSign tweeted about the blimp earlier Thursday:
If you are lucky enough to be at the US Open today share your blimp sighting pics! @penfed #PenFedBlimp #USOpen #USOpen2017 #ErinHills #Golf pic.twitter.com/trFyddODWD
— AirSign (@AirSign) June 15, 2017
Someone else got a shot of the blimp earlier, and said it crashed in their grandmother’s field:
Jesus this blimp at the US Open just crashed in my Grandma's farm field (this is the only picture I got 2 hours before excuse the caption) pic.twitter.com/1yQuRIsRyO
— Alex Grimm (@AlexGrimm4) June 15, 2017
And someone described it as “ominously low” earlier:
@the_fried_egg this is an ominously low blimp wouldn't you say? pic.twitter.com/uFe7n5ib31
— Andrew Gentle (@gentles021) June 15, 2017
A Fox affiliate in Miami has been Periscoping aerial video of where the crash took place:
UPDATE: Operator says blimp flying over U.S. Open has gone down, condition of pilot who parachuted out uncertain https://t.co/yhpgKo2QEC
— WSVN 7 News (@wsvn) June 15, 2017
Reporters on the ground tweeted photos of someone being evacuated by helicopter:
The injured crew member of the blimp that went down near #USOpen is being transported via Flight for Life. https://t.co/2ys2tGR7d1 pic.twitter.com/NNL5dizp43
— CBS 58 News (@CBS58) June 15, 2017
Person on pick up truck being loaded into gurney. #usopen pic.twitter.com/HVudXPcR1j
— Ted Johnsen (@TedAtTheNews) June 15, 2017
Person being taken to chopper. #usopenblimp pic.twitter.com/TkjzQukW9d
— Ted Johnsen (@TedAtTheNews) June 15, 2017
On the scene at the blimp crash at the US Open. Well outside the gates. Paramedics here tending to someone on a medical guerney. pic.twitter.com/13PqJIEP5r
— Kevin Van Valkenburg (@KVanValkenburg) June 15, 2017
The Associated Press confirmed the blimp crash from the operator, and said the pilot’s condition was uncertain:
BREAKING: Operator says a blimp flying over the U.S. Open has gone down, condition of the pilot who parachuted out uncertain.
— The Associated Press (@AP) June 15, 2017
Yahoo’s Jay Busbee reported that there was one person on board, who is “alert and conscious:”
Blimp update: there was one person on board, who is now alert and conscious.
— Jay Busbee (@jaybusbee) June 15, 2017
The U.S. Open Twitter feed also weighed in, saying the blimp was unaffiliated with them or with Fox Sports’ broadcast:
A blimp unaffiliated with the #USOpen or @FOXSports has crashed near Erin Hills. Pilot was injured and first responders are on the scene.
— U.S. Open (USGA) (@usopengolf) June 15, 2017
We’ll update this story as more details become available.