Probe: Pilot of deadly balloon flight impaired
NTSB rips FAA, recommends tighter regulations
AUSTIN, Texas — The pilot in the deadliest hot air balloon crash in U.S. history was probably impaired when he ignored weather warnings and flew the ride into a power line, investigators said Tuesday.
Besides Valium and oxycodone, there was enough of the over-thecounter antihistamine Benadryl in Alfred “Skip” Nichols’ system to mimic “the impairing effect of a blood-alcohol level” of a drunken driver, said Dr. Nicholas Webster, a National Transportation Safety Board medical officer.
During a meeting in Washington, the NTSB revealed its findings about the July 2016 crash near Austin that killed all 16 people aboard. Investigators scolded the Federal Aviation Administration and recommended that balloon pilots submit to the same medical checks as airplane pilots.
Nichols, 49, had at least four prior convictions for drunken driving, though no alcohol was found in his system after the crash. Investigators said Nichols was told during a weather briefing before the flight that clouds may be a problem. He brushed off the warning.
“We just fly in between them,” Nichols allegedly answered back, according to NTSB investigators.
Visibility was 10 miles about two hours before the balloon took off from the rural town of Lockhart, but was just 2 miles before the ride began.
NTSB Chairman Robert Sumwalt ripped the FAA and questioned why the agency was endorsing voluntary pilot requirements written by the Balloon Federation of America instead of tightening regulations.