Troy Bradley, a hot air balloon pilot in New Mexico, said it’s unlikely that the balloon could have caught fire by itself; rather, he guessed that the balloon basket struck power lines, which perhaps ignited fuel.
Advertisement
The accident occurred about three years after 19 people, mostly Asian and European tourists, were killed in a hot-air balloon crash in Luxor, Egypt. Lunsford said he did not know what had led to the crash or if there had been a distress call.
“The balloon was occupied and it does not appear at this time that there were any survivors of the crash”, Daniel Law, the Caldwell County sheriff, said in a statement.
The sheriff’s office said it was working to determine the identities of those aboard the balloon. It was thought to be a vehicle fire, but once on scene it was apparent that they found the basket portion of a hot air balloon.
More than 150 commercial hot air balloon companies operate in North America, he said.
The balloon burst into flames and plummeted to earth soon after dawn outside the town of Lockhart, some 30 miles (50 kilometers) south of Austin, Lynn Lunsford of the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) said in a statement.
“I looked around and it was like a fireball going up”, said Wiley, noting that the fireball was located under large power lines and nearly high enough to reach the bottom of them.
The FAA said the crash took place at about 7:40 am (1240 GMT) and the National Transportation Safety Board has been notified.
Caldwell County Judge Ken Schawe said right now there is limited amount of information but it looks like the balloon hit a high-voltage power line, caught fire and came crashing down.
The resident, Margaret Wylie, said she was in her home when she heard the popping noise.
Wylie said the balloon was so engulfed in flames that she did not see any passengers.
– Christopher O’Neill of NTSB Public Affairs said 16 is “the maximum number of passengers allowed under federal regulations governing” hot air balloon operations.
Cutting through that farmland is a row of massive high-capacity transmission lines about 4 to 5 storeys tall.
Although “such an accident has yet to occur” in the U.S., Hersman wrote at the time, “based on the number of recurring accidents in the United States involving similar safety issues, the NTSB believes that air tour balloon operators should be subject to greater regulatory oversight”.
Authorities are investigating the crash, and have not yet provided further details.
The National Transportation Safety Board is heading up the investigation and has assigned a “Go Team” of technical experts from Washington to examine the crash.
The pilot who was flying the balloon was Skip Nichols, News 8 confirmed.
– Gov. Greg Abbott expressed his condolences to the victims’ families. Bradley said he’s flown balloons with up to 28 people, and he flies throughout the summer in New Mexico. The investigation into the cause of this tragic accident will continue, and I ask all of Texas to join us in praying for those lost.
Advertisement
Lockhart is about 30 miles south of Austin.
