Rozière balloon days or even weeks. The first Rozière was built for an attempt at crossing the English Channel on 15 June 1785. The balloon suddenly deflated (without the envelope catching fire) and crashed near Wimereux in the Pas-de-Calais, killing Rozier, who was riding the balloon. Presently, Rozière designs use non-flammable helium rather than hydrogen. Their primary application is for extremely long duration flights. The first successful Atlantic crossing was made 31 August to 2 September 1986, Newfoundland to the Netherlands, by Brink, Brink and Hageman in the balloon "Dutch Viking". During February 1992, the first east-to-west Atlantic crossing was achieved by
Gatineau Hot Air Balloon Festival the following years the festival became much larger and was one of the biggest festivals in Canada. Attendance at one point reached over 225,000 people and had over 150 balloons. In 1998, the festival was also hosting the World Hot Air Airship Championship, which was disputed by 16 teams from Europe, China and the United States. On July 14, 2001, Boileau who was the general manager since its beginning was involved in a horrific hot-air balloon accident just east of the Ottawa International Airport on Leitrim Road. The balloon, while trying to land in an open field, struck some hydro