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Texas hot air balloon crash could be among the worst in aviation history Texas hot air balloon crash among the worst in aviation history
(about 3 hours later)
The hot air balloon crash that happened in Lockhart, Texas, on Saturday would be one of the worst such disasters worldwide, possibly the worst in US history, if it is confirmed that 16 people were killed when the balloon caught fire and crashed. At least 16 people died in a hot air balloon crash in central Texas on Saturday, the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) said on Sunday, cautioning that investigators have not officially determined the exact number of passengers and what caused the worst such disaster in US history.
The deadliest such disaster happened in February 2013, when a balloon flying over Luxor, Egypt, caught fire and plunged 1,000ft to the ground, crashing into a sugar cane field and killing at least 19 tourists. NTSB investigators will scrutinize the company that operated the balloon and the pilot, neither of which have been publicly identified. The balloon was operated by Heart of Texas Hot Air Balloon Rides, according to two officials familiar with the investigation who spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak publicly. The operation does not appear to be registered with the state of Texas.
It appeared no one survived, authorities said, without confirming the exact number of deaths. Lynn Lunsford with the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) said the balloon was carrying at least 16 people and the Caldwell County sheriff’s office said in a statement that it did not look like anyone had survived. Though authorities had not publicly identified the pilot, Alan Lirette told the AP that it was Skip Nichols – his best friend, boss and roommate. Nichols, 49, identifies himself on his Facebook page as the chief pilot of Heart of Texas.
The balloon was operated by Heart of Texas Hot Air Balloon Rides, according to two officials familiar with the investigation. The officials spoke on condition that they not be named because they weren’t authorized to speak publicly. Lirette helped launch the balloon, which Nichols was piloting, he said on Sunday morning from their shared house in Kyle, Texas. Lirette also said there were 15 people on board – none of them children – plus Nichols. Lirette would not answer specific questions about the balloon’s launch or crash into a pasture on Saturday morning near Lockhart, Texas.
Related: Texas hot-air balloon crash leaves 16 people deadRelated: Texas hot-air balloon crash leaves 16 people dead
Heart of Texas’s website said it offers rides in the San Antonio, Houston and Austin areas. 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. “That’s the only thing I want to talk about, is that he’s a great pilot,” Lirette said of Nichols, who also owns Missouri-based Air Balloon Sports. “There’s going to be all kinds of reports out in the press and I want a positive image there too.”
The operation does not appear to be registered with the state of Texas. NTSB investigators will look at “three things – human, machine and environment” at the site, about 30 miles south of Austin, board member Robert Sumwalt said Sunday in Washington. They will look at the aircraft’s maintenance history and weather at the time of the crash, which is one of the worst ever. In February 2013, a balloon flying over Luxor, Egypt, caught fire and plunged 1,000ft to the ground, crashing into a sugar cane field and killing at least 19 tourists.
Warning about potential high-fatality accidents, safety investigators recommended two years ago that the FAA impose greater oversight on commercial hot air balloon operators, government documents show. The FAA rejected those recommendations. Federal officials, unsure how many people were riding in the Texas balloon, will look into whether the operator filed a passenger manifest before taking off. Balloons do not usually file flight plans, Sumwalt said.
In a letter to the FAA administrator, Michael Huerta, in April 2014, the National Transportation Safety Board urged the FAA to require tour companies to get agency permission to operate, and to make balloon operators subject to FAA safety inspections. The FAA’s Huerta responded that regulations were unnecessary because the risks were too low. Lirette said several people on board seemed related, because “a lot of last names were the same”, but he didn’t provide specifics. Authorities have not released the names of those who were on board.
After Huerta’s reply, the NTSB classified the FAA’s response to the two balloon safety recommendations as “open-unacceptable”, which means the safety board was not satisfied with the FAA’s response. The NTSB is interested in any cellphone video of the balloon’s flight, and investigators will look for devices in the wreckage that have recoverable video shot by passengers, as well as any video from witnesses.
Speaking to the AP just before leaving for Texas to lead the crash investigation, the NTSB member Robert Sumwalt said he was studying the board’s recommendations from previous hot air balloon accidents. “When balloons go out on these flights, they have a … couple of cars to go pick up the riders after they’ve landed in a field somewhere. We think there may be some chase footage from those cars,” Sumwalt said.
“I think the fact that it is open-unacceptable pretty much speaks for itself,” he said. The crash happened in farmland, and cutting through it is a row of massive high-capacity electrical transmission lines. The site of the crash appears to be right below the overhead lines and aerial photos showed an area of charred pasture underneath, but authorities did not immediately provide further details about what happened.
He also noted that the team was still trying to gather basic information about the Lockhart accident. Margaret Wylie lives about a quarter-mile from the crash site. She was letting her dog out Saturday morning when she heard a “pop, pop, pop”.
FAA spokesman Lunsford said it was difficult to say whether the Texas crash would cause the agency to reconsider NTSB’s recommendations “until we’ve had a chance to gather and examine the evidence in this particular case”.
Erik Grosof, with the NTSB, said a full-bore investigation of the crash site would begin on Sunday when more federal officials arrived.
“This will be a difficult site for us to work through,” Grosof said.
Saturday’s crash happened at about 7.40am in a pasture near Lockhart, about 30 miles south of Austin. The land near the crash site is mostly farmland, with corn crops and grazing cattle. Cutting through that farmland is a row of massive high-capacity electrical transmission lines about four to five stories tall.
The site of the crash appears to be right below the overhead lines, though authorities haven’t provided further details about what happened. Aerial photos showed an area of charred pasture underneath power lines.
Margaret Wylie lives about a quarter-mile from the crash site. She told the Associated Press that she was letting her dog out Saturday morning when she heard a “pop, pop, pop”.
“I looked around and it was like a fireball going up,” she said, noting that the fireball was under large power lines and almost high enough to reach the bottom of them.“I looked around and it was like a fireball going up,” she said, noting that the fireball was under large power lines and almost high enough to reach the bottom of them.
Wylie, who called 911, said the weather seemed clear and that she frequently saw hot air balloons in the area. Heart of Texas’ website said it offers rides in the San Antonio, Houston and Austin areas. 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.
Authorities have not released the names of those who were onboard and have not said who was flying the balloon. Calls to Heart of Texas operations manager Sarah Nichols, 72, rang unanswered, and a woman in Missouri believed to be his sister did not return calls seeking comment.
Skip Nichols identifies himself on his Facebook page as the chief pilot of Heart of Texas and pictures posted by him are on the business’s Facebook page. Nichols, 49, is also the registered owner of Missouri-based Air Balloon Sports. On Saturday, no one answered the door at a home in Kyle, Texas, believed to be his. Calls to Heart of Texas operations manager Sarah Nichols, 72, rang unanswered, and a woman in Missouri believed to be his sister did not return calls seeking comment. Warning about potential high-fatality accidents, safety investigators recommended two years ago that the Federal Aviation Administration impose greater oversight on commercial hot air balloon operators, government documents show. The FAA rejected those recommendations, and the NTSB classified the FAA’s response to the two balloon safety recommendations as “open-unacceptable”, which means the safety board was not satisfied with the FAA’s response.
FAA spokesman Lynn Lunsford said it was difficult 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”.