1997 Accidents (Kelton’s Version)

## Arthur

The Arthur balloon's left arm was damaged by a tree near 77th Street and Central Park West, however it did not affect the balloon's flight or stablility. His left ear was pierced by The same row of lampposts that would destroy Superman.

## Goofy

Goofy's stomach was ripped by a lamppost, then later was stabbed by the NYPD police officers and was removed and videotaped from 1993 and 1994.

## Kelton Logan

Kelton Logan once again snagged a lamp post and was freed.

## Elmo

While travelling along Central Park West, the Elmo balloon Almost knocked over a tree, The Same Tree That Barney Later Knocked Over. When the balloon arrived at 51st Street, the winds were getting stronger, and he started to be flown back and forth. He became so uncontrollable, that some of the handlers had to lay on the ground in order to get the balloon under control. But despite their best efforts, The Balloon was forced into a streetlight, tearing a massive hole in the right side of him. the NYPD had to stab the balloon until he was fully deflated.

## Garfield

Garfield's tail was deflated overnight, and a hole was put in his back left paw at 51st street, but the rest of the balloon remained unscathed.

## Peter Rabbit

The Peter Rabbit balloon was nearly punctured by several lamp posts along the Parade route, including the lamp post that would later be knocked down by the Bade balloon. In spite of several run-ins, Peter Rabbit made it through the entire route.

## Rocky And Bullwinkie

Rocky's tail was damaged by a tree right the start of the parade, but He Along With Bullwinkie made it through despite the winds.

## Pink Panther

Mere minutes after the balloon started to march, The Pink Panther's tail was punctured By A Lamppost at Central Park West, But Still survive the route and finish.

## Quik Bunny

While turning from 77th Street to Central Park West, Quik Bunny's left ear was punctured by a tree and deflated. After That, He Finish The Parade WithOut His Left Ear.

## Donald Duck

At 81st street, Mere minutes after the Donald Duck balloon started its march, the balloon was pulled from the lineup because of his head being ripped open. How this happened currently remains unknown.

## Barney

While travelling along Central Park West, the Barney balloon knocked over a tree, however no one was injured, and no damage was done to the balloon And It Survived.

## LEGO Spaceman

When the balloon reached 42nd Street, the winds became so fierce, that one of the handling lines snapped, causing the balloon to hurdle into a traffic light. It was immediately removed from the parade.

## Superman

Superman was reportedly one of the toughest balloons to handle due to its size. Gusts of wind would cause the balloon to continuously lurch forward and backward, knocking down its handlers repeatedly. Superman faced the most turbulence upon arriving in Times Sqaure. In an attempt to stabilize the balloon, an NYPD officer stabbed Superman's Head, which proved successful. In spite of their efforts, Superman was pierced by a streetlight in Times Square, tearing a hole in the balloon. Following the balloon's run-in with the street light, Similar To The Elmo Accident, NYPD officers helped to deflate the balloon by stabbing the helium-filled carcass. During the collapse, the balloon almost suffocated a mother and her daughter who were handling the balloon, and another report stated that a handler was knocked unconscious. This report, however, was not verified by the NYPD.

## Felix The Cat

Felix the Cat was removed after SuperMan. Due to high winds and collapsed and grounded the balloon.

## Bade

In what has been described as the worst accident in the parade's history, Bade hit a lamppost twice at Central Park West and 72nd Street, which ended up knocking parts of the light onto the crowd, injuring 4 people, most notably injuring a woman named Kathleen Caronna. The impact of the debris almost killed her, putting her into a month-long coma; she eventually sued Macy's for nearly killing her in 2001. The balloon's head was also punctured and deflated by that lamppost, and so he had to travel the rest of the Parade without it. Eventually, the balloon limped away and was removed at 36th Street.[1] This led to new safety guidelines the following year (see below), including restrictions on balloon sizes. While Babe did violate the new size limits, he was permanently banned after the 1998 Parade due to the severity of the incident.

## Spider-Man

Spider-Man's hands and feet were deflated as a result of the gusty winds, however the balloon did not cause any injuries.

## Bumpé

Bumpé's back legs were punctured and deflated after a strong gust pushed him into the sidelines at Time Square. Additionally, the high winds also caused him to lose his front toenails. Despite the incident, the balloon remained largely intact throughout the rest of the Parade route.

## Betty Bop

Betty Boop was removed from the parade at 76th street after the Bade accident.

## Beethoven

Beethoven was also removed from the Parade after the Bade accident.

## Snoopy And Woodstock

Mere minutes after the balloon started to march, Snoopy's head was almost ripped apart by an obstacle at Central Park West (most likely a lamppost) Without Any Damages To The Balloon, However his right skate would deflate upon the route, while woodstock was lowerd to the ground.

## Aftermath

After the "Great Balloon Massacre" of the 1997 Parade, new safety measures were introduced in order to prevent balloon incidents from occurring often, if not to eliminate the possibility of them altogether. Starting in 1998, the giant character balloons would now be attached to two utility tractors, as well as a handler/pilot expansion. However, the most important rule of which, was a strict size limit on balloons, which was that balloons had to be no larger than 70 feet in height, 78 feet in length, or 40 feet in width. This meant that the larger balloons -- including Some Balloons had to be permanently banned from making any further appearances. Any balloons that weren't built for the utility tractors were retired as well. In 2005, after another serious incident occurred, more safety measures were enacted, such as installing wind measurement devices that alert Parade organizers to unsafe weather, keeping balloons closer to the ground during windy conditions, and prohibiting the giant balloons from flying during very heavy rainfall, or in sustained winds higher than 23 MPH, in addition to gusts higher than 34 MPH.