[Veen]

I used to think they looked peaceful and fun too, but then I read Ian McEwan's Enduring Love, which begins with a hot-air balloon accident. Although irrational, I now have an abiding fear of hot air balloons and am unlikely to ever go in one.

(although, for context, I also have irrational fears about helicopters)

[agumonkey]

What difference does it make with planes ? I understand your fears and fears in general but a slow, low noise, low energy (actually I should check that) thing like a balloon is charming to me.

[Broken_Hippo]

It has been some time since reading it, but hot air balloons are much more prone to accidents than airplanes. So much can go wrong where modern aircraft are designed to lessen these sorts of things. We just sensationalize plane crashes - because they are horror-inducing spectacles - and don't really hear about the balloon incidences that hurt 3 people instead of 200.