Passengers on the Texas hot air balloon took selfies aboard the vessel in the moments before the fatal crash that killed all onboard. Alan Lirette told The Associated Press that his roommate and co-worker Skip Nichols piloted the balloon.
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She also said she’s grown frustrated that authorities haven’t revealed the identities of the victims in the crash, which is being investigated.
Records in Missouri’s St. Louis County showed that Nichols had pleaded guilty to drunk driving charges at least three times between 1990 and 2010 and several other vehicular charges. Additionally, the Better Business Bureau warned customers about working with Nichols at a balloon company he operated in the state before moving to Texas.
Bartch said she and Nichols remained friends and she helped him set up business operations in Texas in 2014.
The St Louis Post-Dispatch reported in 2008 that the Better Business Bureau had warned consumers about doing business with Mr Nichols.
Sumwalt said the balloon struck high-voltage power lines crossing the pasture before it crashed.
Rowan’s brother, Josh, told Inside Edition that Matt was a “kind, loving person”. The company’s Facebook page features photos of a hot air balloon with a smiley face with sunglasses on it up in the air, people waving from a large basket on the ground and group selfies taken while up in the air. The manufacturer of Nichols’ balloon mandates an annual inspection, he said, adding that he couldn’t do it this year but believes Nichols took it to another inspector.
The number of deaths involving hot air balloons has declined in recent years. Pino said he got to see them two weeks ago when they were in town for Lorilee’s 30th high school reunion.
He also noted that the team was still trying to gather basic information about the accident.
The Caldwell County Sheriff’s office said Monday that there was only one call placed to 911 following the crash.
Authorities have yet to name the victims of the accident, the deadliest hot air balloon crash in USA history, but the pilot Alfred “Skip” Nichols, was identified by friends. “He did not fly when he wasn’t supposed to”, Ms Bartch said.
National Transportation Safety Board member Robert Sumwalt said Monday that it was “pretty suspicious” that the balloon was found directly under power lines, but he said it had not been determined whether the power lines caused the crash or if the balloon was already on fire when it hit them.
Sumwalt said the ground crew communicated with the balloon by cellphone, and the pilot navigated with an iPad. But the incident is likely to spark debate over how balloon operators are regulated and what can be done to prevent accidents. They said identification of the bodies could be a long process.
The main way the FAA regulates commercial balloon operations is that the pilots have to be licensed, but the licensing requirements are less stringent than those for other commercial pilots. Ms Rowan had bought tickets for the flight as a birthday gift for her husband, whose brother Josh Rowan said the couple had texted family members and posted images of the balloon on social media before the crash.
But the weekend accident that killed 16 people in Texas is a reminder that ballooning isn’t the safest way to spend an afternoon.
Federal Aviation Administration records showed that Nichols had a 2014 commercial pilot’s license for hot air balloons, with an address in Chesterfield, Missouri.
The NTSB said it wants all USA balloon operators to have “letters of authorization” which would create a record of regular checks that would verify they’re maintaining their equipment, using safety checklists and conducting passenger safety briefings. The last hot-air balloon crash of this magnitude happened in Luxor, Egypt in 2013, when a hot-air balloon carrying tourists caught fire while landing, killing 19 of its 20 passengers.
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The differences between the two agencies over the oversight of commercial balloon tours are chronicled in federal records.
