Usually the scattering of energy is considered a nuisance -- whether driving in fog or poor reception from a cellphonetower -- and most techniques either try to avoid it (by turning on fog lights) or reduce the impact of scattering (by selecting energy for the phone only from direct paths).
The last hot air balloon accident in Luxor occurred in 2009, when 16 foreign tourists were injured after a balloon struck a cellphone transmission tower.