Weather is one of the biggest challenges facing balloon pilots, said Rusty Kaim, an Austin-based pilot and member of the Central Texas Ballooning Association. Ground crew members told the NTSB that they didn’t launch at the expected 6:45 a.m. time, but was delayed about 20 minutes.
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Sumwalt said balloons typically have “chase cars” that pick up riders after they land.
Robert Sumwalt, an NTSB spokesperson said that there is physical evidence that the balloon hit power lines before the crash and is also trying to determine whether fog was a factor.
Collisions with power lines are a leading cause of hot air balloon crashes.
Bryant said Nichols told him he moved from the St. Louis area to Central Texas because there was less competition. NTSB records show Kubicek brand balloons have been involved in four crashes investigated by federal authorities in the past five years, all hard landings that resulted in serious injuries but no deaths.
Lirette described Nichols as his “best friend, boss and roommate”.
The crash in Texas Saturday appeared to be far and away the worst hot-air ballooning accident in the United States.
According to FAA records, the balloon was manufactured in 2014 and is registered to Nichols.
A couple of newlyweds were among the passengers who died tragically this weekend in a hot air balloon crash.
“The FAA lacks compelling evidence to believe that medications not approved by the FAA have led to balloon accidents”, he wrote.
Erik Grosof with the National Transportation Safety Board would not provide the exact number of fatalities. Sixteen people were on board.
– August 13, 1989: Thirteen people were killed when their hot air balloon collided with another over the Australian outback near the town of Alice Springs. 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.
Saturday’s crash is the most fatal hot air balloon crash in USA history, according to NTSB figures.
Calls to Heart of Texas Hot Air Balloon Rides were not returned on Sunday.
“I looked around and it was like a fireball going up”, she said.
The balloon is believed to have been operated by Heart of Texas Hot Air Balloon Rides. All sixteen people on board were killed.
The National Transportation Safety Board says they’re particularly interested in any cellphone video of the balloon’s flight. Sumwalt said it is cruicial to get witness statements because “their greatest enemy is the passage of time” in these situations.
They located 14 personal devices, including iPhones, iPad and cameras, in the wreckage. Operators must also keep maintenance records for the balloon, heating units, and other equipment.
Lockhart is 30 miles south of Austin.
It’s apparently the worst such disaster in US history, and one of the worst ever in the world. But the incident is likely to spark debate over how balloon operators are regulated and what can be done to prevent accidents.
Hersman recommended commercial balloon operators be required to acquire and maintain letters of authorization to hold air tour flights and to give passengers “a similar level of safety oversight as passengers of air tour airplane and helicopter operations”.
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Lirette, who helped load the passengers into the gondola, told CNN that 16 people – 15 passengers and Nichols – were aboard when it went down.
