After a hot air balloon crash in Texas on Saturday killed all 16 people aboard, revelations about the pilot’s past are raising questions about the oversight of balloon operators.
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The National Transportation Safety Board confirmed Sunday July 31, that the hot air balloon, owned by Heart of Texas Hot Air Balloon Rides, did strike powerlines before crashing.
NTSB officials, who are investigating the crash, said the balloon hit high-tension wires before exploding into a fireball.
Friends of Nichols told the media that he was a safe pilot who had never flown while drunk.
“The whole things is in flames now”, she said, interrupting herself as she gave the dispatcher directions. Why the balloon was flying so low is still a mystery. “At this point, we do not”, he said.
A high school friend, Sandy Fialka, told the San Antonio News-Express that she rode on one of Nichols’ balloons several years ago, but the flight was delayed because of weather conditions.
Sumwalt said the balloon had a current annual inspection from September 2015. The devices would be taken back to the NTSB lab for processing, Sumwalt said.
Nichols, owner of Heart of Texas Hot Air Balloon Rides, was piloting the early morning pleasure flight when it is thought to have struck power lines near Lockhart, Texas on Saturday, killing all onboard. The note, signed by employee Sarah Nichols, did not mention any plans to resume work.
Nichols pleaded guilty to two driving while intoxicated charges.
Nichols was convicted of a drug crime and spent about a year-and-a-half in prison before he was paroled.
He had served about 18 months on the drug charge, getting out in 2004. However, once licensed, balloon pilots are supposed to notify the FAA of drunken driving convictions. But, he said, it’s likely the FAA would revoke the license of a pilot with DUI convictions.
“Our interest in the drug and alcohol (offenses) has to do with the ability to operate an aircraft”, Lunsford said.
The FAA report notes it is “exceptionally easy” to obtain an FAA license to pilot a balloon.
The FAA provided a copy of the report in response to a request from The Associated Press. His former girlfriend, Wendy Bartch, said he was a recovering alcoholic who had been sober for at least four years.
“They’re wanting some reassurance”, said Denni Barrett, chief pilot for Temecula-based Magical Adventure Balloon Rides.
In 2013, Nichols and his company settled a personal-injury lawsuit filed by the passenger who said she got hurt after the crash landing near St. Louis. Terms of the settlement were not disclosed. He said all 16 passengers were in the area of the gondola, which was 3/4ths of a mile away from the balloon. Because it was drifting toward power lines, he said, he made what he called a controlled landing amid trees.
Nichols’ ballooning operations in Missouri also came under scrutiny by the Better Business Bureau, which in 2008 issued a warning to consumers about booking flights with his company, Air Balloon Sports.
The complaints Nichols received did not relate to his safety record.
In July, the Better Business Bureau warned customers about Nichols and his businesses for a third time. An internal Federal Aviation Administration report urged greater safety oversight of the hot air balloon tour industry two years before the agency’s head rejected similar recommendations from a federal accident investigations board. The pilot had to “land short” to avoid striking the retrieval team vehicle, which was parked in the path of the balloon, records show.
Sunday Rowan, 34, worked at insane 8 clothing, according to her Facebook page, and had 5-year-old son named Jett, the Austin newspaper said. Lirette said he helped load the other 15 passengers into the basket of the hot air balloon.
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“As long as I’ve been doing this, he hasn’t been a part of it”, Black said of Nichols.
