Saturday, July 30, 2016

Deadliest Balloon Crash In U.S. History

  1.  

  1. Deadliest Balloon Crash In U.S. History News

  2. Deadliest Hot-Air Balloon Crashes - WSJ

    www.wsj.com/articles/deadliest-hot-air-balloon-crashes-14698...
    7 hours ago ... Some of the worst accidents involving recreational hot air balloons. ...U.S. 10 Yr △ .......
  3. No survivors in fiery hot air balloon crash south...

    abc13.com/news/no-survivors-in-fiery-hot-air-balloon-crash-s...
    3 hours ago ... According to the National Transportation Safety Board, the balloon accident was the ...
  4. Deadliest balloon accidents in the U.S. | WFAA.com

    www.wfaa.com/news/nation/deadliest-balloon-accidents-in-the-...
    6 hours ago ... The deadliest hot air balloon accidents in the U.S. in the last 45 years.
  5. No apparent survivors in Texas balloon crash, officials say

    A fiery hot air balloon crash killed 16 people in Central Texas on Saturday, making it one of the deadliest hot air balloon crashes 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 lived near the site of the crash described hearing popping noises before spotting a large fireball that she at first 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, there was when a whooshing sound happened and the fireball went up,” she said.
    It was about 7:44 a.m. when Caldwell County emergency responders first received the report after Wylie called 911.
    The National Transportation Safety Board is leading the investigation, and many technical experts from Washington were still en route to Texas late Saturday. The FBI is also assisting the safety board in collecting evidence from the scene.
    Just minutes before the crash, a husband and wife traveling on the Texas 130 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 American-Statesman 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 Gonzales, 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 capable of carrying 24 people.
    None of the people killed had been formally identified Saturday evening.
    Safety board 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 balloon crashes.
    “They’re very difficult to see from the air,” Lavorgna said. He asks his passengers to tell him if they see any lines, because they’re 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; rather, he guessed that the balloon basket struck power lines, which perhaps ignited fuel.
    High-voltage power lines are very near the scene of Saturday’s crash.
    The area between Austin and San Antonio is a common place to fly balloons, Bradley said. Lavorgna said a 16-person balloon would be larger than what he usually sees. He said big balloons are more common near Albuquerque, N.M., where there’s more open space and a great deal of balloon traffic.
    MORE NATIONAL NEWS
    Mike Pence is the anti-Trump on the trail, just the way the campaign wants it
    Federal judge strikes down Wisconsin election laws
    6 more Michigan public workers charged in Flint water crisis

    UPDATES:
    6:35 p.m.: This article was updated with more information about the investigation.
    3:20 p.m.: This article was updated with more information about the crash investigation and a statement indicating there didn’t appear to be any survivors.
    11:48 a.m.: This article was updated with additional details about the crash, as well as comments from eyewitnesses and authorities.
    10:30 a.m. This article was updated with a description of the crash site and statement from the governor.
    This article was originally pub

No comments: