What happened at Macy’s parade accident? 1997 cat in the hat crash to Felix fire incident, 5 thanksgiving day parade disasters

For nearly a century, the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade has been a holiday staple known for its giant balloons and lavish pageantry. But these same colossal inflatables that attract millions of spectators each year have also been the cause of some of the parade’s scariest accidents.

From early balloon experiments to the notorious 1997 Cat in the Hat mishap, here are a few of the most memorable disasters.

1. 1997: The Cat in the Hat accident leaves a woman critically injured

The most serious parade incident happened in 1997 when the winds were gusting over 40 mph during the parade. Officials debated grounding the balloons, but they flew anyway.

When the lofty Cat in the Hat balloon made its way across Manhattan, it slammed into a lamp post not far from West 72nd Street. The arm of the post broke off and plummeted into the crowd, hitting Kathleen Caronna, a 33 year old spectator, in the head.

Caronna had a crushed skull and brain damage and remained in a coma for 24 days. The extent of her injuries led to a wide-ranging review of parade safety. The Pink Panther and Barney balloons were finally taken down by the police during the same parade to eliminate any further hazards.

On November 27, 1997, high winds during the Macy’s Parade caused several balloon mishaps: Cat in the Hat struck a lamppost, injuring a spectator; Pink Panther was forcibly deflated after becoming uncontrollable; and Barney was infamously punctured by a lamppost before collapsing pic.twitter.com/KbhwqE9P8o

— RetroNewsNow (@RetroNewsNow) November 27, 2025

2. 1932: Tom Cat collides with a plane

In the early years, at the conclusion of each parade, people would release balloons into the sky and offer rewards for their return. The dangerous tradition very nearly ended in a calamity back in 1932, when a pilot soaring above Queens accidentally encountered the drifting Tom Cat balloon.

The inflatable hit the plane’s wing and left it in a momentary tailspin. The pilot regained control at 80 feet, which led Macy’s to reconsider the release tradition.

3. 1993: Sonic the Hedgehog’s turbulent parade debut

In 1993, Sonic the Hedgehog became the first video game character to fly as a balloon over the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade, but his inaugural appearance rapidly turned disastrous. Powerful winds pushed the balloon into a streetlamp at 58th Street and Broadway, tearing it and dropping debris on spectators.

An off-duty police officer and a girl were hurt, and the accident caught national attention.

Footage Of The 1993 Sonic The Hedgehog Macy's Parade Disaster Finally Surfaces Online https://t.co/5JTXfCOH37 #Sonic pic.twitter.com/lnXiZMCsXl

— Nintendo Life (@nintendolife) November 29, 2019

4. 2005: M&M’s holiday balloon causes injuries

The M&M’s “Red and Yellow Brighten the Holidays” balloon almost knocked over a streetlamp in Times Square during the 2005 Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade due to extreme winds.

The crash shed a light, which fell into the crowd. Two young spectators were injured — an adult woman in a wheelchair who suffered a bruised forehead and her 11 year old sister, who was cut on the head and needed stitches to close the wound.

5. 1991: Kermit the Frog’s Parade Misfortune

Kermit’s original balloon had a famously difficult time during the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade. While this balloon had escaped tangles with trees in 1985, luck gave up in 1991 when another encounter left the frog’s head deflated.

The damage was serious enough that the balloon was quietly retired not long after that. A redesigned Kermit returned in 2002 and put in occasional appearances over the next few years, as well as a comeback in 2007.