It was the deadliest crash involving a hot air balloon in the Western Hemisphere, according to the Balloon Federation of North America.
Advertisement
“When you talk about a balloon hitting a power line (as happened in the Texas crash), it’s a structure so big that whatever caused (the crash) is unimaginable”, Teitsworth said.
“The balloon – was found nearby with the top vent open and cables positioned to open the vent”, Sumwalt told CNN. She said Nichols had been sober for at least four years and never piloted a balloon after drinking. Nichols said that the balloon began to drop because of a lack of wind.
Investigators don’t know why the balloon flew into electric wires about 140 feet above the ground.
Soon after the update, the crew and Nichols lost contact. But they can’t yet say when the flames broke out that engulfed the basket carrying everyone aboard. They recovered three cameras and an iPad that Nichols used to navigate the balloon.
What’s left of the aircraft has been taken to an air salvage yard in Dallas, Sumwalt said.
The NTSB expects to produce a report on the accident, but that will probably take months. The Texas secretary of state said the company never registered with state officials but that it did not necessarily have to. She has declined to comment.
The NTSB said there is no sign that excess alcohol played a role in the crash at this stage although toxicology tests have been carried out on Nichols’ body.
Details also emerged Monday about Skip Nichols’ lengthy criminal record, which included at least four drunken driving charges and two stints in prison in Missouri. A former girlfriend described Alfred “Skip” Nichols as a recovering alcoholic.
However, it’s generally up to pilots to notify the FAA within 60 days of a conviction. And there is no oversight of that requirement for balloon pilots.
It recommended greater oversight of the hot air balloon industry, saying it was concerned about the potential for great loss of life without more regulation.
In a 2014 letter, the board urged the adoption of a requirement that tour companies get FAA permission to operate.
“Ballooning is statistically safer than walking down the street”, said Kijak, who estimated he’s flown more than 10,000 passengers without incident.
It was not clear if Nichols was the pilot on that day.
Sumwalt said the balloon had a current annual inspection from September 2015.
“We want to be safe, but we don’t want to be regulated out of the skies or raise the cost of ballooning to the point where we can not fly”, he said. Authorities have not publicly named any of the 16 people killed, saying it could take a while to identify the bodies.
Thirteen of the 16 victims who were in the hot air balloon that crashed in a field west of Lockhart, Texas Saturday morning have been identified by family members and family friends.
In a statement on its Facebook page, Texas Hot Air Balloon Rides expressed condolences over those killed in the crash and said it was suspending operations.
The investigation into the Texas crash is ongoing but the evidence at the scene suggests the gondola crashed into high-tension power lines.
According to the National Transportation Safety Board, the balloon that crashed in 2014 was owned by the same company and was similar in type and appearance, but was a different balloon. Texas, Monday, Aug. 1, 2016.
Authorities have confirmed that Scott Douglas died in Saturday’s crash.
Federal regulation of hot air balloon operators needs to be more in line with oversight of the airline industry, a USA safety official said on Monday during a briefing on a crash in Texas that ranked as the worst in North American ballooning history.
Advertisement
Josh Rowan said his brother and sister-in-law, Matt and Sunday Rowan, were among those killed.
