Spectators at the US Open at Erin Hills in Wisconsin have posted videos of a blimp crashing to the ground.

It was originally believed — as said in one of the videos — that the pilot parachuted out of the blimp, but that no longer appears to be the case. The president of Air Sign, the company that owned the blimp, told the NBC affiliate in Milwaukee that the pilot rode the blimp to the ground and was able to retreat before the propane exploded.

The pilot was severely burned, and he was taken to the hospital by helicopter.

“Was that the puff of smoke I saw? Is everybody OK?” a shocked Brandt Snedeker said after finishing his round. “My caddie made a comment on the ninth hole. He said the blimp is not looking good. I guess it was nose down. I saw a puff of black smoke. I didn’t know it was the blimp. It’s not good.”

The Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel reported the blimp caught fire before hitting the ground near a highway outside the course.

“It started deflating, and then it started going down,” onlooker Bryan Rosine told the newspaper. “They were trying to give it some throttle and it didn’t go up. Then there was a bunch of kabooms and smoke clouds.”

WMTV, an NBC affiliate in Madison, Wis., showed the crash scene with a helicopter circling and emergency workers treating an individual on the ground.

“According to local authorities, a commercial blimp not affiliated with the USGA or the U.S. Open Championship broadcast crashed in an open field approximately a half mile from the Erin Hills golf course at approximately 11:15 a.m. CDT,” the USGA said in a statement. “First responders were quick to arrive at the scene and the pilot is currently being treated for unknown injuries. No other people were involved in the incident and local law enforcement is currently investigating. Our thoughts and prayers are with the pilot at this time.”

Additional reporting by George Willis