GRANT CITY, Mo. -- A helium balloon carrying four people crashed Monday in northwest Missouri, injuring two of those aboard, including the wife of comedian and entertainer Flip Wilson, authorities said.
The ballon crashed about 9 a.m. CDT in Worth County, about six miles east of the community of Denver in a wildlife area owned by the Missouri Conservation Commission.
Two balloons left Spirit of St. Louis Airport about 7 p.m. Sunday. There was apparently no particular destination, the patrol said.
One of the balloons landed roughly and then lifted back into the air, said Ralph Campbell, communications officer with the Highway Patrol in St. Joseph. At that point, someone pulled a ripcord, sending the balloon plumeting to the Earth from an unknown height, Cambell said.
Flip Wilson was aboard a second balloon, which landed safely in nearby Bedford, Iowa.
His wife, Cookie, of Los Angeles, was believed to have broken both legs in the accident, Campbell said. Mrs. Wilson and a second passenger, Capt. Nikki Caplan of Clayton, were taken to a hospital in Mount Ayr, Iowa.
Caplan suffered back injuries in the accident, Campbell said.
Two other passengers aboard the 35,000-cubic-foot helium balloon escaped injury. They were identified by the patrol as Lindell G. Buckles, 34, St. Charles, Mo., and Richard G. Allan, 49, Warwick, Bermuda.
