Tragic Ryanair pilot built hot air balloon using sewing machine

Tragic Ryanair pilot killed in hot air balloon crash told how he made it at home over just 15 days using a sewing machine and £4K worth of tent fabric – which witnesses said ‘went up like tissue paper’ after catching fire 900ft in the air

  • A clip posted on TikTok shows Mr Gregory sewing panels together in his shed

The Ryanair pilot who died in a horror hot air balloon explosion in Worcestershire at the weekend detailed how he created the doomed craft in just 15 days in a video posted on TikTok before his death.

Peter Gregory, 25, died after his homemade hot air balloon ‘went up like tissue paper’ after a malfunction 900ft in the air above the village of Ombersley.

The clip, which was posted by Mr Gregory via his TikTok account ‘flyingpedro’, shows the process the aviation enthusiast went through to construct the £4,000 balloon.

In the video, he is seen sewing together over 270 panels of tent fabric in a shed.

Mr Gregory was seen replying to comments posted by unsure users under the clip, trying to ease concerns over the craft’s safety.

Over 270 panels of tent fabric were sewed by Mr Gregory when he was constructing the craft

The aviation enthusiast can be seen replying to concerned commentators on TikTok, easing fears over the balloon’s safety

The hot air balloon came down near Ombersley, Worcestershire, yesterday

One user said: ‘The lower part of the balloon fabric, how do you make sure it doesn’t catch fire?’ 

The pilot replies by saying that the bottom part of the balloon ‘is made from nomex which is fire retardant’ before pointing out that it’s made out of the same material as racing drivers.

Another user by the name of EA asked Mr Gregory how he could ‘trust’ the design process, before he replies saying that the ‘design and manufacturing process hasn’t changed much in well over 100 years!’.

READ MORE: Man in his 20s is killed in exploding hot air balloon horror: Witnesses watched ‘fireball’ balloon plunging to Earth – and reveal how they couldn’t get through on 999 number because emergency hotline was DOWN 

Witnesses of the accident said the multi-coloured craft burst into flames in mid-air near Ombersley Court at 6.20am on Sunday morning.

One said: ‘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.

‘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.’

The family of Mr Gregory, who are all expert balloonists, are said to be ‘in bits’ over his death, but are finding comfort in the fact he died doing what he loved.

In a tribute released via West Mercia Police today the family said: ‘Peter Gregory, 25 years of living life to the full.

‘On the morning of Sunday 25th June, our Pilot Pete took one last flight, doing what he loved.

‘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.’

They added: ‘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.’

The tribute was signed from ‘Dan, mummy, daddy and Emma’ and asked for people to respect the privacy of Peter’s family and friends at ‘this difficult time’.

Is it not yet clear just how the craft burst into the fireball, however a hot air balloon enthusiast and photographer who watched Peter’s first flight in his homemade balloon today said: ‘Balloon accidents are often very rare, the last was 12 years ago. In 50 years there have only been five or six fatalities. Statistically it’s safer than horse riding’.

Mr Gregory is seen cutting and sewing the panels in a video posted on his TikTok account last year

Drawings (pictured) show the pilot’s thinking when coming up with the design for the craft

The cost of the balloon cost Mr Gregory around £4,000

It took him approximately 15 days to finish building the balloon from scratch

The term ‘gores’ refers to the panels which Mr Gregory made up from pieces of tent fabric

It happened on the same weekend as the first Worcester Balloon Festival, although Mr Gregory’s craft was not connected to the event.

One witness said: ‘There were lots of balloons in the sky because it was clear and sunny despite being so early.

‘Suddenly there was a flash and what looked like a fireball coming from a blue balloon and it just 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.’

The crash has been reported to the Air Accident Investigation Branch, which had a team on site yesterday afternoon. 

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