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| Texas hot air balloon crash: identifying the dead may take time | Texas hot air balloon crash: identifying the dead may take time |
| (25 days later) | |
| Federal records show the company operating the balloon tour involved in a fatal crash in Texas on Saturday had another accident two years ago. | Federal records show the company operating the balloon tour involved in a fatal crash in Texas on Saturday had another accident two years ago. |
| A Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) accident report shows that a balloon registered to Heart of Texas Hot Air Balloon Rides made a hard landing in a church soccer field on 3 August 2014. The crash injured two female passengers. | A Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) accident report shows that a balloon registered to Heart of Texas Hot Air Balloon Rides made a hard landing in a church soccer field on 3 August 2014. The crash injured two female passengers. |
| The report says the company’s retrieval team had parked its trailer in the balloon’s landing path, causing the pilot to land short in order to avoid a collision. The injured passengers were taken by ambulance to a hospital. | The report says the company’s retrieval team had parked its trailer in the balloon’s landing path, causing the pilot to land short in order to avoid a collision. The injured passengers were taken by ambulance to a hospital. |
| The name of the pilot involved in the 2014 crash was not included in the records. The FAA spokesman Lynn Lundsford said there were no other records of accidents or closed enforcement actions against Heart of Texas Hot Air Balloon Rides, or the company’s pilot and owner, Alfred “Skip” Nichols. | The name of the pilot involved in the 2014 crash was not included in the records. The FAA spokesman Lynn Lundsford said there were no other records of accidents or closed enforcement actions against Heart of Texas Hot Air Balloon Rides, or the company’s pilot and owner, Alfred “Skip” Nichols. |
| Authorities have not publicly named anyone killed in the crash that killed all 16 people aboard on Saturday, and have said it could take a while to identify the bodies. The balloon hit high-tension power lines before crashing into a pasture Saturday morning near Lockhart, about 60 miles north-east of San Antonio. Margaret Wylie, who lives a quarter-mile from the site, said she heard popping sounds and saw what looked “like a fireball going up”. | Authorities have not publicly named anyone killed in the crash that killed all 16 people aboard on Saturday, and have said it could take a while to identify the bodies. The balloon hit high-tension power lines before crashing into a pasture Saturday morning near Lockhart, about 60 miles north-east of San Antonio. Margaret Wylie, who lives a quarter-mile from the site, said she heard popping sounds and saw what looked “like a fireball going up”. |
| There were reports of foggy weather in the area of the crash around the time of the flight. At least two of the passengers posted photos on social media of the preparations, the early morning sunrise and themselves in the basket of the balloon a short time before the crash. | There were reports of foggy weather in the area of the crash around the time of the flight. At least two of the passengers posted photos on social media of the preparations, the early morning sunrise and themselves in the basket of the balloon a short time before the crash. |
| Ground crew members told investigators they launched about 20 minutes after the expected 6.45am time. The balloon travelled about eight miles from takeoff to crash, and the basket was found about three-quarters of a mile from the balloon itself. | Ground crew members told investigators they launched about 20 minutes after the expected 6.45am time. The balloon travelled about eight miles from takeoff to crash, and the basket was found about three-quarters of a mile from the balloon itself. |
| National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) investigators recovered 14 personal electronic devices, including cellphones, an iPad and three cameras from the crash site, which will be sent to a lab in Washington for analysis. Robert Sumwalt, an NTSB member, said the immediate focus of the investigation would be gathering witness testimony, starting on Monday with the ground crew. | National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) investigators recovered 14 personal electronic devices, including cellphones, an iPad and three cameras from the crash site, which will be sent to a lab in Washington for analysis. Robert Sumwalt, an NTSB member, said the immediate focus of the investigation would be gathering witness testimony, starting on Monday with the ground crew. |
| “They’ve been busy trying to collect the maintenance records for us,” Sumwalt said. | “They’ve been busy trying to collect the maintenance records for us,” Sumwalt said. |
| Nichols, 49, was identified as the pilot by his friend and roommate Alan Lirette. “That’s the only thing I want to talk about, is that he’s a great pilot,” Lirette said, speaking from a house he shared with Nichols in Kyle, Texas. “There’s going to be all kinds of reports out in the press and I want a positive image there, too.” | Nichols, 49, was identified as the pilot by his friend and roommate Alan Lirette. “That’s the only thing I want to talk about, is that he’s a great pilot,” Lirette said, speaking from a house he shared with Nichols in Kyle, Texas. “There’s going to be all kinds of reports out in the press and I want a positive image there, too.” |
| Sumwalt of the NTSB said the pilot was licensed to fly the balloon, but that it was too soon to say whether he had a criminal history. A Missouri police officer, though, said Nichols was arrested there in 2000 on a felony driving while intoxicated charge. The case was resolved two years later when he pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor version of the charge. | Sumwalt of the NTSB said the pilot was licensed to fly the balloon, but that it was too soon to say whether he had a criminal history. A Missouri police officer, though, said Nichols was arrested there in 2000 on a felony driving while intoxicated charge. The case was resolved two years later when he pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor version of the charge. |
| The officer said that based on photographs, he was confident the man arrested in Missouri was the same man who piloted the Texas balloon. Nichols had lived in Missouri before moving to Texas. He was known as “Skip” in both places and owned a hot air balloon touring company in St Louis County at the time, said the officer, who spoke on condition that he not be identified because he was not authorized to comment publicly. | The officer said that based on photographs, he was confident the man arrested in Missouri was the same man who piloted the Texas balloon. Nichols had lived in Missouri before moving to Texas. He was known as “Skip” in both places and owned a hot air balloon touring company in St Louis County at the time, said the officer, who spoke on condition that he not be identified because he was not authorized to comment publicly. |
| The St Louis Post-Dispatch reported in 2008 that the Better Business Bureau had warned consumers about doing business with Nichols, the third time since 2000 he had gotten an unsatisfactory record for not responding to complaints. The paper quoted the BBB as saying Nichols was on probation in Missouri for the distribution, delivery or manufacturing of a controlled substance and that when asked to respond, Nichols said: “I prefer to make no comment on that.” | The St Louis Post-Dispatch reported in 2008 that the Better Business Bureau had warned consumers about doing business with Nichols, the third time since 2000 he had gotten an unsatisfactory record for not responding to complaints. The paper quoted the BBB as saying Nichols was on probation in Missouri for the distribution, delivery or manufacturing of a controlled substance and that when asked to respond, Nichols said: “I prefer to make no comment on that.” |