Or maybe the retrieve crew (who go ahead and seek permission to land from landowner once the balloon pilot has chosen a field) had been denied landing permission and the captain had no option to go off somewhere else to land.
Friend of mine does commercial flights and I have been called in at last minute as ballast: he says (in E Anglia at least) that's its extremely rare to be denied landing permission however.
I've alsa been in a balloon which had to take off again after landing when it landed in a locked and secured gravel pit and the landie + trailer couldn't get in.
Cusco