Lockhart TX hot air balloon crash kills 16

[ryoder 1,590]

http://www.kens5.com/news/local/texas/hot-air-balloon-crashes-with-16-aboard-in-lockhart-fatalities-reported/284520214

Earlier, they showed aerial video, and the balloon looked like the one on this page: https://livelaughrv.net/2015/04/15/gals-guys/

General location: https://www.google.com/maps/place/Jolly+Rd,+Maxwell,+TX+78656/@29.88415,-97.7618405,2228m/data=!3m1!1e3!4m5!3m4!1s0x8643551a6f74b945:0x9fadfa76ec6657b1!8m2!3d29.898087!4d-97.7576759

FB page of balloon company: https://www.facebook.com/heartoftexashotairballoonrides/
Website: http://www.hothotairballoonrides.com/

"There are only three things of value: younger women, faster airplanes, and bigger crocodiles" - Arthur Jones.

[MikeJD 0]

Tragic end to what should have been a wonderful experience.

Ballooning seems to be one of those activities where it's generally extremely safe but obviously you're terribly vulnerable in the event of a crash. This one looks like a collision with power lines, which seems the typical cause of fatal incidents.

I've taken a fair few hot air balloon rides, but never without a parachute rig, and I've never landed in one. I'm not sure how safe I'd feel in that gondola without a rig on.

[Phil1111 1,182]

Ballooning is safe. Evidently the pilot had 4 previous DUIs
" The pilot of a hot air balloon that crashed in Texas, killing 16 people, was able to keep flying despite having at least four convictions for drunken driving in Missouri and twice spending time in prison.

Whether the pilot's drinking habits had anything to do with the crash was unclear. A former girlfriend described Alfred "Skip" Nichols as a recovering alcoholic. She said he had been sober for at least four years and never piloted a balloon after drinking.

Nichols, who had been stripped of his driver's license at least twice, "couldn't drive a car but he could pilot a hot air balloon," said an attorney who represented a passenger who sued Nichols in 2013. The passenger said she was hurt when Nichols crash-landed a balloon in the St. Louis suburbs.

Had he been a commercial airplane pilot, Nichols probably would have been grounded long ago."
http://abcnews.go.com/US/wireStory/texas-balloon-pilot-arrested-dwi-2000-41037987

These commercial operations try to land as close to roads as possible as the baskets- balloons are heavy, passengers don't like to walk. I don't know if thats a factor or not. In cool conditions balloons have pretty good performance and I've seen lightly loaded ones do 1000' FPM climbs but there is a lag time between a decent-power(i.e. burners) and a resultant climb.

I landed in one one time in a 18 mph wind in a summer fallow field. The basket had soft dirt piling over the bottom edge of the basket and running out the sides of the wicker.

Its fun coasting along the country-side at 3-400 feet enjoying the quiet when the burners aren't roaring three feet above your head. Less fun, chase crew, loading and setting them up. Weather even more restrictive than skydiving with 8-10 mph an absolute limit for wind. Any wind increases the ground crew you need to handle it for setup.

According to a passenger tweet-FB post the flight had been cancelled a dozen times already and the picture he posted showed a ground fog-haze. If this affected the decision to get the flight in the air ??? If the pilot couldn't see the power lines because of low vis ???

Sill lots of fun to jump out of as its the same effect as a BASE jump without the risk.