Overview
- Footage shown at the inquest captured him waving at a camera before swiftly climbing out of the basket, according to police testimony.
- The balloon had reached about 1,000 ft after a delayed 8:45am departure from Adversane due to earlier fog at Dunsfold Aerodrome.
- Police mounted a search after the fall and found his body hours later on farmland beside the A272, where he was declared dead at the scene.
- Detectives said the movement was too quick for fellow passengers to intervene, and the court heard no evidence of an accidental fall.
- Sixteen passengers and a pilot were on the Virgin Balloon Flights trip as relatives followed the hearing remotely and the company offered condolences.