A hot air balloon reportedly landed in a paddy field in Kampung Pisang, Kota Sarang Semut, this morning and is believed to have been flown without approval from the Civil Aviation Authority of Malaysia (CAAM).
Kota Setar District Police Chief, Assistant Commissioner Syed Basri Syed Ali, said the incident was noticed by a local farmer at around 8.30am, who claimed that a man was aboard the balloon.
“The witness then saw several individuals folding the balloon and loading it onto a pickup truck,” he said.
During questioning, one of the crew members, the pickup driver, admitted that the balloon had taken off from Stadium Mini Pendang earlier this morning.
The pickup later left the scene, and no injuries or casualties were reported. According to initial investigations, the driver told authorities that the balloon had to land in the paddy field to avoid drifting into the sea.
Further checks revealed that the hot air balloon is owned by a resort and water theme park in Penang. Authorities discovered that the resort had not obtained the necessary approvals from CAAM or Air Traffic Control to operate in Kedah’s airspace; permission was only granted for the Taiping, Perak area.
The case has been referred to CAAM for further action.
