The AP reported ground crew members telling investigators that the launch took place about 20 minutes after the expected time of 6:45 a.m. (7:45 a.m. EDT).
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“The NTSB feels there needs to greater oversight by the regulator”, or the FAA, he said. The Austin-area had become thorny lately for commercial pilots because unfavorable weather kept forcing pilots to cancel rides and refund deposits.
FAA spokesman Lynn Lunsford said it’s hard to say whether the Texas crash will cause the agency to reconsider NTSB’s recommendations “until we’ve had a chance to gather and examine the evidence in this particular case”.
Nichols got his commercial licence to pilot hot-air balloons in Missouri in July 1996.
A hot air balloon carrying 16 people caught on fire and crashed in Central Texas, and it appeared no one survived, authorities said.
Between late 1998 and 2001, the Better Business Bureau said it had received more than three dozen complaints against Nichols’ Manchester Balloon Voyages, leading it to twice warn the public about the company.
The St. Louis Post-Dispatch reported in 2008 that the Better Business Bureau had warned consumers about doing business with Nichols, the third time since 2000 that Nichols had gotten an unsatisfactory record for not responding to complaints.
Sunday Rowan bought the balloon flight for her husband as a birthday gift previous year and it had taken them a while to schedule it, Jones said.
Josh Rowan said his brother and sister-in-law, Matt and Sunday Rowan, were among those killed.
Josh Rowan said the two, both 34, grew up in College Station.
He says, “They were really happy and they were in love and they were really starting a life together”.
Matt Rowan and his wife, Sunday Rowan, were among those on board the hot air balloon. His research centered on treating burn victims, and he had also taught college chemistry. Federal rules already require commercial pilots like her to have their balloons inspected every year or every 100 hours, among other requirements, she said. “He was excited every day”.
Nichols piloted the balloon that crashed Saturday in Texas, killing 16 people. The National Transportation Safety Board is investigating.
Balloon Federation of America spokesman Patrick Cannon called it a “loophole” that pilots with DWIs and a history of alcoholism do not have to report that to the FAA when applying for a balloon pilot’s certificate.
The crash happened Saturday morning in a pasture near Lockhart, which is about 30 miles south of Austin.
If 16 people were killed, it would be the one of the worst such disasters, possibly the worst in US history.
According to the page, the couple had been married for 23 years and were celebrating their anniversary with a romantic sunrise balloon ride.
Missouri court records also show that Nichols settled a personal injury lawsuit in 2013 that was filed by one of eight passengers in his balloon that crash-landed in suburban St. Louis. The friend, Alan Lirette, says Nichols was a good pilot.
The investigation will look at three main factors to determine the cause of the crash: the balloon, its operators and the environment, Sumwalt said. The gondola burned but the envelope – the actual balloon – was found nearby with the top vent open and cables positioned to open the vent, Sumwalt said.
Records indicate that the apparent pilot of the hot air balloon was federally certified to fly balloons. No one answered the door at a home in Kyle, Texas, believed to be his.
Wendy Bartch posted on Facebook: “Love you Skip”.
The pilot was 49-year-old Skip Nichol.
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. He said that he is confident they are the same man based on photographs of Nichols. “And then she ran inside and called 911”. “Although surveillance for ballooning activity is not carried out in the traditional sense… the FAA regularly attends sanctioned ballooning events and performs certain oversight activities, such as checking pilot credentials and reviewing the airworthiness condition of the balloon”.
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Jason told 11 News reporter Dustin Cuzick that Lorilee called the balloon ride her “bucket list balloon ride”, and was posting photos and videos of the ride up until just moments before the crash.
