A hot-air balloon flight turned tragic this week after a passenger fell 1,500 feet to his death from the basket ... and it looks like cops went out of their way to cover up the aftermath.
A male passenger fell without warning from a commercial hot-air balloon Monday -- which took off from Melbourne -- less than 30 minutes into his ride. The body reportedly landed in a residential area with the hot-air balloon making a safe landing many miles away.
According to local eyewitnesses ... many residents in the suburb didn't realize what had occurred until sirens were heard. In fact, a loud bang was heard before emergency responders arrived.
The incident caused several powerlines to go down and a large police presence to block off the local street from morning traffic.
While the tragedy is not being treated as suspicious, cops are speaking with the other occupants in the balloon to try and deduce what exactly caused the unexpected fall.
The National Commercial Hot-Air Ballooning Industry and the Australian Ballooning Federation have spoken out about the tragedy, assuring people that hot-air balloon baskets are designed to prevent passengers from falling out ... so it's unclear what may have caused this.
They say the operator will be arranging for psychological support and counseling for the witnesses affected.
This marks the second hot-air balloon tragedy this year. Remember, four people were killed in Arizona in January after a hot-air balloon went down during a skydiving outing. A preliminary report from the National Transportation Safety Board later said the envelope was already deflated and the burner still on before the hot air balloon collided with the ground.
Just goes to show ... hot-air ballooning can be dangerous.