In 2013, 19 people died in a hot air balloon crash in Egypt, near the ancient city of Luxor. Sadly, the balloon made a crash-landing nearly eight miles from its departure site.
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Witnesses have said that they heard a series of pops and that the balloon appeared to have struck power lines before catching fire.
Witnesses described seeing the balloon engulfed in flames.
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.
“I looked around and it was like a fireball going up”, she said, noting that the fireball was located under large power lines and nearly high enough to reach the bottom of them. The Austin-area had become thorny lately for commercial pilots because unfavorable weather kept forcing pilots to cancel rides and refund deposits.
It is the deadliest hot air balloon crash in USA history.
A Missouri police officer, though, told The Associated Press that Nichols was arrested there in 2000 on a felony driving while intoxicated charge and pleaded guilty to misdemeanor DWI in 2002. He says the two moved to Texas with their family about three years ago.
The hot air balloon pilot involved in Saturday’s fatal crash in Texas had at least four drunken-driving convictions in Missouri.
Fifteen sightseers and pilot Alfred “Skip” Nichols were floating through the air near Lockhart when their balloon hit power lines and fell into a field Saturday morning.
The Better Business Bureau in Missouri had warned against doing business with the 49-year-old, saying that he repeatedly gotten unsatisfactory record for the way he responded to complaints.
Paige’s brother did not want to comment at this time but shared a fundraiser page on Facebook to help his family.
At least two passengers posted photos on social media of the preparations, the sunrise and themselves in the basket of the balloon shortly before the crash.
Rowan’s brother, Josh, told Inside Edition that Matt was a “kind, loving person”.
Authorities haven’t identified the victims yet, telling reporters dental records will be used to identify the dead, but friends and family have begun identifying their loved ones, including six who were from San Antonio. They had been friends since high school and just got married in February.
He says, “They were really happy and they were in love and they were really starting a life together”.
Judy LeUnes, Matt Rowan’s 5th grade teacher and a family friend, told the Bryan-College Station Eagle: “He was fun to teach”.
The Caldwell County Sheriff’s Office said in a statement Saturday that investigators are determining the number of victims and their identities. He suspected a motorist saw the balloon so close to the road and assumed it had crashed.
The page says Tresa had a long career at TigerLane Preschool. The Brabsons were among 16 people killed.
Investigators will be combing the wreckage looking for devices that have recoverable video shot by passengers.
“We will interview the ground crew (Monday) to see if we can find out if there was any particular reason why the launch was delayed by as much as 20 minutes”, he said.
A hot air balloon crashed in Lockhart, Texas, about 30 miles outside of Austin, killing all 16 people onboard. “They were awesome people and they were full of life and full of joy”, Josh Rowan said.
“It is with extraordinarily heavy hearts that we announce the suspension of operations at Heart of Texas Hot Air Balloon Rides”, the company said on its website.
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Nichols, who had been stripped of his driver’s license at least twice, “couldn’t drive a vehicle but he could pilot a hot air balloon”, said an attorney who represented a passenger who sued Nichols in 2013.
