DECEMBER 11, 2008 – The North County Times reported yesterday that the friends and family of an Oceanside woman killed in a balloon accident at the Albuquerque International Balloon Fiesta in October 2007 have reached a wrongful death settlement for $1.4 million dollars.  The amount was the limit that the Albuquerque International Balloon Fiesta was insured for.

The victim, Rosemary Wooley Phillips, of Oceanside, fell 70 feet to her death when she fell out of a hot air balloon that became caught in power lines. The NTSB reported the pilot, Tom Reyes, was distracted when he saw another balloon crash into a house.  Phillips’ partner, Cheri Dias, was also injured in the accident along with two friends. Dias and Phillips’ two siblings and the survivors of the crash also sued the companies that owned and operated the balloon and the pilot, Tom Reyes, but he recently died.

Seven people have died in power-line related accidents at the annual balloon fiesta between 1990 and 2008, including two people in 2008. The annual balloon fiesta is considered to be the most widely photographed event in the world.