Fiery hot air balloon crash kills 16
The Texas vessel may have hit power lines. NTSB will lead the inquiry into one of the worst crashes in U.S.
In what may be the worst such accident in U.S. history, authorities believe there were no survivors in central Texas disaster near power lines.
LOCKHART, Texas — A fiery hot air balloon crash killed 16 people in central Texas on Saturday, making it one of the deadliest in U.S. history.
The balloon had been gliding along a portion of Caldwell County near Jolly Road, about two miles west of Lockhart, when witnesses said it appeared to strike high-voltage power lines and catch fire. There were no survivors.
It was the worst accident involving a hot air balloon since a 2013 balloon crash in Egypt killed 19.
A woman who lives near the site of the crash described hearing popping noises before spotting a large fireball that she initially thought might have been a tractor exploding.
The resident, Margaret Wylie, said she was in her home when she heard the noise. While outside, she heard a second pop and then turned toward the sound to see a fireball erupt from a hay field.
“About the time I looked over, [that] was when a whooshing sound happened and the fireball went up,” she said.
Wylie called 911, and Caldwell County emergency responders received the report about 7:45 a.m.
The National Transportation Safety Board is leading the investigation, and many technical experts from Washington were en route to Texas late Saturday. The FBI is also assisting in collecting evidence from the scene, which is near highvoltage power lines.
Just minutes before the crash, a husband and wife travel ing on the Texas 1 30 toll road spotted the balloon, which was piloted by Heart of Texas Hot Air Balloon Rides owner Alfred “Skip” Nichols. Joe Gonzales told the Austin AmericanStatesman that, even from his vantage point speeding by, he was concerned that the low-flying balloon had too many people aboard.
“I’d never seen one like that with that many people,” Gonzales said. “It just didn’t look right.”
His wife, Erika, snapped a photo of the red, white and blue balloon with a smiley face as they passed.
Nichols was most recently certified to fly hot air balloons by the Federal Aviation Administration in July 2014, according the agency’s database of pilots.
The website for Heart of Texas Hot Air Balloon Rides states that it has balloons capab le of carrying 24 p eo- ple.
None of the people killed had been formally identified Saturday evening.
NTSB senior advisor Erik Grosof said the investigation was in a “stake-down” phase, meaning that staff members were working mainly to secure the crash site and gain control of the wreckage.
The investigation would begin “full bore” once the team of experts arrives, Grosof said, and it will be led by NTSB investigator Bill English.
For now, investigators are treating the crash area much like a crime scene, he said.
“This will be a difficult site for us to work through,” Grosof said.
Bruce Lavorgna, spokesman for the Central Texas Ballooning Assn., who has been flying balloons for 26 years, said power lines are the most common cause of crashes.
Power lines are “very difficult to see from the air,” Lavorgna said. He asks his passengers to tell him if they see any, because they’re so easy to overlook.
Troy Bradley, a hot air balloon pilot in New Mexico, said it’s unlikely that the balloon could have caught fire by itself; he guessed that the balloon basket struck power lines, which perhaps ignited fuel.
The area between Austin and San Antonio is a common place to fly balloons, Bradley said.
Lavorgna said a 16person balloon would be larger than what he usually sees.
He said big balloons are more common near Albuquerque, where there’s more open space.