By: HISTORY.com Editors
Hot air balloon crash becomes world’s first aviation disaster
On May 10, 1785, a hot air balloon crashes in Tullamore, Ireland, triggering what is considered by many to be the world's first aviation disaster. Launched during a local fair, the unmanned balloon drifted off course and ignited a fire that tore through the town, destroying nearly 100 houses and businesses. The blaze, later known as the Great Fire of Tullamore, exposed the unexpected dangers of early ballooning experiments.
A Dublin newspaper reported that the stunt had been devised by two English gentlemen, who persuaded an “English adventurer” to construct and launch a Montgolfier hot air balloon “for the amusement of their friends.” Likely made from paper and lifted by a basket of burning straw, the balloon rose after its tethers were cut—only to be caught in “smart winds” that carried it into a local surgeon’s chimney. There, it caught fire, scattering embers and flames across town and setting buildings alight along Barrack Street.
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“The utmost distress has been experienced by the miserable inhabitants,” the newspaper wrote four days after the fire, noting that the remaining houses could scarcely shelter the displaced. “Several of the wealthier residents have suffered losses nearly to their total ruin, particularly Mr. Norris whose dwelling house, office and malthouse containing a considerable quantity of grain were destroyed. This dreadful calamity … has overwhelmed this ill-fated town with inconceivable distress and inconvenience.”
Relief came nearly two weeks later, when Charles William Bury, the town’s young landlord, arrived to distribute 550 pounds to those affected—an act the Dublin Evening Post praised as one of “charity and munificence.”
In a fitting symbol of recovery, the Tullamore coat of arms bears a phoenix—the mythological bird of fire and rebirth.
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Citation Information
- Article Title
- Hot air balloon crash becomes world’s first aviation disaster
- Author
- HISTORY.com Editors
- Website Name
- History
- Date Accessed
- November 04, 2026
- Publisher
- A&E Television Networks
- Last Updated
- May 07, 2026
- Original Published Date
- May 07, 2026
