It was not immediately clear why he was holding onto the basket as it took off, police said.
Police said he fell onto a road from a height of about 100 meters.
Jerusalem: A man dangling from the basket of a hot air balloon fell to his death onto a road in Israel on Tuesday, police said.
It was not immediately clear why he was holding onto the basket as it took off, they said. Israeli media reported that the man was a member of the balloon's ground crew.
Photos on Israeli news websites showed him in mid-air, clutching the red-and-white basket. Police said he fell onto a road in the north of the country from a height of about 100 meters (330 ft).
The balloon's pilot landed the craft safely.
- Reuters