Hot-air balloon crash kills 1, injures 7 others
     DONALD, Ore. (August 3, 1997 11:57 pm EDT) -- A hot-air balloon
 struck a Douglas fir tree Sunday as its pilot tried to land, sending
 its eight passengers tumbling to the ground. One man was killed and
 the seven others were injured, five seriously.
     The early morning crash happened near a country road about 25
 miles southwest of Portland, Marion County fire officials said.
     Five passengers, including the pilot, were in serious condition
 at a Portland hospital with broken bones and other injuries. Another
 victim was in fair condition with minor bruises, and the condition
 of the seventh was not known.
     The dead man was identified as Carl Allamand, 70, of Union.
     Witnesses said the red, white and blue balloon was traveling
 west over Interstate 5 when it hit a Douglas fir. Donald Fire
 Department spokesman Walt Miller said the tree was 50 to 75 feet
 tall, but it wasn't known how far the passengers fell.
     "We think the basket must have tipped on the way down. If all
 of them had fallen from that height, there would have been a lot
 more trauma involved," Miller said.
     Eight people were riding in the balloon from rural Isberg Park
 about two miles away, Federal Aviation Administration spokeswoman
 Debbie Taylor said.
     The pilot apparently had planned to land near the crash site to
 pick up more fuel tanks and change passengers, Sheriff's Deputy
 Grover Wilson said. He struck the tree as he was descending.
     The cause of the crash was under investigation, Taylor said.
 ---------------------------------------------------------------- The flying 
Kennedy
     John F. Kennedy Jr. briefly answered reporters questions before
 a crowd assembled near a World War II-era B-17 bomber Thursday, July
 31, at the Experimental Aircraft Association Fly-In Convention in
 Oshkosh, Wis.
     Kennedy, a self-described "lapsed pilot," told the crowd he was
 an aviation enthusiast from his childhood.
 ------------------------------------------
    The Associated Press/Oshkosh Northwestern must really be hurting
 for news with the annual EAA show going on.  Jim
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