ERIN, Wis. - ERIN - A PenFed blimp deflated, burst into flames and crashed late Thursday morning near the U.S. Open at Erin Hills.
The blimp went down about 11:20 a.m. near Highway 83 and Highway 167.
One person - presumably the pilot - was transported by Flight for Life from the area of the crash just after noon. Reports from the scene say he was suffering from serious burns, but will survive.
#USOpen blimp going down on fire. pic.twitter.com/cRAX4apE7R
— Drez (@AaronDrez) June 15, 2017
A witness tweeted that the pilot appeared to have parachuted to safety. Rescue crews from a variety of area fire departments and responded to the scene.
"It started deflating, and then it started going down," said Bryan Rosine.
"They were trying to give it some throttle and it didn't go up," he said. "Then there was a bunch of kabooms and smoke clouds."
Another witness, Tim Guetzke, said "the side started deflating. One side was going in. As it headed toward the ground, it caught fire."
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
The sign on the blimp advertised PenFed Credit Union. Earlier Thursday morning, AirSign, a national aerial advertising firm, tweeted about the blimp's arrival and encouraged visitors to share photos.
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
The blimp crash was far from the course but the smoke that rose above the trees afterwards was terrifying.
— Mike Hall (@BTNMikeHall) June 15, 2017
