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Two Richmond basketball officials presumed dead in hot-air balloon crash Friday Two Richmond basketball officials presumed dead in hot-air balloon crash Friday
(about 3 hours later)
DOSWELL, Va. — Two women’s basketball officials at the University of Richmond were among the three people feared dead after the hot air balloon they were in caught fire and crashed, a relative confirmed Saturday. DOSWELL, Va. — Ginny Doyle was formidable on the basketball court, but a little skittish about getting into a hot-air balloon.
Associate head coach Ginny Doyle, 44, was one of the three, Doyle’s sister said in a brief telephone interview from her home in Pennsylvania. “Getting ready to go up in a hot air balloon today,” Doyle, a former University of Richmond basketball player and the Spiders’ associate head coach, posted on Twitter and Instagram Friday afternoon. “Tried it at 6:30am but was too foggy. Will go up this evening . . . anxiety.”
Natalie Lewis, the 24-year-old director of basketball operations, also was in the balloon and remained missing, according to her parents. They held out hope that the more than 100 rescuers combing a wide, heavily wooded swath of Caroline County would find her alive. Rescuers found the bodies of the other two Friday night and Saturday morning. Around 6 p.m., Doyle was about to try again, posting a photo of the preparations, the colorful balloon spread out on the ground and the gondola nearby.
“The search continues for our beloved daughter and we remain hopeful and ask for your continued prayers,” wrote Patricia and Evan Lewis. Joining her in the basket were two others, the pilot and Natalie Lewis, 24, the Spiders director of basketball operations. In the next balloon was Spiders head coach Michael Shafer and his two daughters, 7 and 9.
Spiders head coach Michael Shafer went up in another hot air balloon with his two daughters, who are 7 and 9 years old, about the same time as Doyle and Lewis Friday night, according to his ex-wife. Her participated in the outing to support his girlfriend, who was an organizer of the Mid-Atlantic Balloon Festival, the ex-wife said. She asked not to be identified to protect the privacy of her children, who were traumatized by witnessing the accident. About two hours later, Shafer’s balloon landed safely. But moments after that, the balloon carrying Doyle and Lewis hit a power line and caught fire. The pilot attempted to control the fire and the balloon. At some point, two people either fell or leaped from the gondola. There was an explosion. More fire. And then the basket and balloon went off in separate directions.
“ ‘Mommy, they were right next to me when they took off,’ ” one daughter told her afterward, she said. “They’re very traumatized, and rightfully so.” On Saturday, rescuers recovered the bodies of two people who had been in the balloon; they declined to say which ones. But Lewis’s parents said their daughter was the one who remained missing. They held out hope that the more than 100 rescuers combing a wide, heavily wooded swath of Caroline County would find her alive.
Doyle, a former Richmond player who had been on the staff for 16 seasons, tweeted about her balloon flight Friday. She wrote that fog had prevented them from going up at 6:30 a.m., but Shafer’s ex-wife said that must have been a typo and that the plan was always to go up in the evening. “The search continues for our beloved daughter and we remain hopeful and ask for your continued prayers,” Patricia and Evan Lewis said in a written statement.
“Getting ready to go up in a hot air balloon today,” she posted on Twitter and Instagram at 1:30 p.m. Friday. “Tried it at 6:30am but was too foggy. Will go up this evening #anxiety.” The accident was an emotional blow to the Spiders program, which Doyle joined fresh out of her Philadelphia high school. A talented player who stood a little less than 6 feet and could beat her older brother at hoops even as a child, Doyle, 44, earned a scholarship to play for the Spiders, her brother, Raymond Doyle said.
Around 6 p.m., Doyle posted a photo of the balloon being set up, with the balloon rolled out on the ground and the basket nearby. She posted that she was “getting ready to go up.”
Doyle posted a photo with Lewis, a former swimmer for the university who graduated in 2011.
The accident was a emotional blow to the Spiders program, which Doyle joined fresh out of her Philadelphia high school. A talented player who stood a little less than 6 feet tall and could beat her older brother at hoops even as a kid, Doyles earned a scholarship to play for the Spiders, her brother, Raymond Doyle said.
“She loved basketball. She loved that school,” he said.“She loved basketball. She loved that school,” he said.
The three were in a balloon about 8 p.m. Friday that witnesses said crashed amid screams for help. Lewis is a native of Buffalo, N.Y., who swam for the Spiders and graduated in 2011.
Bodies of two of the balloon’s occupants have been recovered, Virginia State Police said. State police have not identified the two passengers or the pilot. Shafer organized the outing to the Mid-Atlantic Balloon Festival with his colleagues.
The first body was found in a heavily wooded area shortly before midnight, state police spokeswoman Corinne Geller said Saturday. The second body was recovered about 11 a.m. Saturday 1,500 yards to the north. The balloon and gondola carrying the pilot and two passengers have not been found, she said. The two basketball officials and pilot were in the balloon about 8 p.m. Friday that witnesses said crashed amid screams for help.
Geller said the balloon was one of 13 that had taken flight Friday ahead of a balloon festival scheduled for Saturday and that it was attempting to come down in a designated landing area when it hit a power line. The pilot attempted to vent the balloon and take other measures to bring it down, a pilot on the ground told investigators. Virginia State Police said they have not identified the passengers or the pilot. The first body was found in a heavily wooded area shortly before midnight Friday, state police spokeswoman Corinne Geller said. The second was recovered about 11 a.m. Saturday, about 1,500 yards away. The balloon and gondola carrying the pilot and two passengers have not been found and may have burned, she said.
She said the pilot had only minutes, if not seconds, to react. Geller said the balloon was one of 13 that took flight Friday as part of an event in advance of the balloon festival scheduled for Saturday and canceled in the wake of the accident. After hitting the power line, the pilot attempted to vent the balloon and take other measures to bring it down, a pilot on the ground told investigators.
The pilot had only minutes, if not seconds, to react, Geller said.
“Unfortunately, it was a very rapid event,” Geller said. “And then you have the explosion.”“Unfortunately, it was a very rapid event,” Geller said. “And then you have the explosion.”
Despite Doyle’s reference on Twitter to fog forcing them to cancel an earlier flight, Geller said the weather was fine by Friday evening and was not thought to have been a factor in the crash. Despite Doyle’s reference on Twitter to fog forcing them to cancel an earlier flight, Geller said, the weather was fine by Friday evening and was not thought to have been a factor in the crash.
Accidents involving hot air balloons relatively rare in the United States, where pilots must be certificated and have a balloon rating. The National Transportation Safety Board has investigated 772 hot air balloon crashes and incidents since 1964. Of those, fewer than 70 were fatal. Accidents involving hot-air balloons are rare in the United States, where pilots are required to have a Federal Aviation Administration certificate and a balloon rating in order to fly. The National Transportation Safety Board has investigated 772 hot-air balloon crashes and incidents since 1964. Of those, fewer than 70 were fatal.
The last fatal crash in the Washington region occurred on June 6, 1987, when a balloon hit a power line and exploded near Gaithersburg, killing a 16 year-old and seriously injuring her father. The last fatal crash in the Washington region occurred on June 6, 1987, when a balloon hit a power line and exploded near Gaithersburg, killing a 16-year-old and seriously injuring her father.
But several major crashes have occurred abroad in recent years. In Doswell, a mostly rural community about 25 miles northeast of Richmond that is best known for the Kings Dominion amusement park, about 100 rescuers searched through the night Friday and all day Saturday. Because of the time that elapsed since the crash, the search was shifted Saturday from a rescue operation to a mission to recover remains, Geller said. The group was planning to suspend the search at nightfall and resume at dawn.
One of the deadliest hot air balloon accidents on record occurred on February 26, 2013 in Luxor, Egypt. The balloon’s gas supply caught fire, causing an explosion that killed 19 tourists who had awoken for a sunrise flight to view the ancient city. The pilot and one passenger survived.
In August 2012, a crash killed 6 and injured 26 in Ljubljana, Slovenia and a January 2012 explosion killed all 11 people aboard a balloon in Carterton, New Zealand.
In Doswell, a mostly rural community known as home to the state fairgrounds and the Kings Dominion amusement park, crews searched through the night Friday and prepared to do so again SAturday. Because of the time elapsed since the crash, the search was shifted Saturday from a rescue operation to a mission to recover remains, Geller said. More rescuers were called in Saturday, bringing the number to more than 100.
According to the Associated Press, witnesses told police that two of the occupants either fell or jumped from the burning balloon after it struck the power line.According to the Associated Press, witnesses told police that two of the occupants either fell or jumped from the burning balloon after it struck the power line.
Carrie Hager-Bradley said she saw the balloon in flames on her way home from the grocery store and heard people yelling, according to TV station WWBT.Carrie Hager-Bradley said she saw the balloon in flames on her way home from the grocery store and heard people yelling, according to TV station WWBT.
“They were just screaming for anybody to help them,” she said. “ ‘Help me, help me, sweet Jesus, help. I’m going to die. Oh my God, I’m going to die,’ ” Hager-Bradley said she heard one person screaming. “They were just screaming for anybody to help them,” she said.
Twenty balloonists from the Mid-Atlantic were scheduled to participate in the weekend festival Saturday, but a special kickoff was held Friday for about 740 people. Organizers canceled the festival after the crash, which occurred about 25 miles north of Richmond near Meadow Event Park in rural Caroline County, where the festival was being held. “ ‘Help me, help me, sweet Jesus, help. I’m going to die. Oh my God, I’m going to die,’ ” Hager-Bradley said she heard one person screaming.
“It’s just a shocking situation for everyone,” Greg Hicks, a spokesman for the venue, which also hosts the state fair, said in an interview with the Associated Press. Twenty balloonists from the Mid-Atlantic were scheduled to participate in the weekend festival Saturday, but a special kickoff was held Friday for about 740 people.
“It’s just a shocking situation for everyone,” Greg Hicks, a spokesman for the venue, told the AP.
Bystander Nancy Johnson said the crash occurred in an instant.Bystander Nancy Johnson said the crash occurred in an instant.
“One minute the balloons were hovering in [the] field behind Event Park, the next everyone is pointing at sky,” she wrote in an e-mail to the Associated Press. “The crowd went silent in shock. Very sad night.” “One minute the balloons were hovering in [the] field behind Event Park, the next everyone is pointing at sky,” she wrote in an e-mail to the AP. “The crowd went silent in shock. Very sad night.”
Donnell Ferguson said he was cutting grass when he saw a couple of balloons passing by. One was low, barely at tree-top level.Donnell Ferguson said he was cutting grass when he saw a couple of balloons passing by. One was low, barely at tree-top level.
“At first I saw a cloud of black smoke and then I noticed the basket on fire,” he said Saturday. “Then it just took off real fast and disappeared.”“At first I saw a cloud of black smoke and then I noticed the basket on fire,” he said Saturday. “Then it just took off real fast and disappeared.”
Some hot air balloons landed safely in Debra Ferguson’s yard, the Free Lance-Star of Fredericksburg reported. Some hot-air balloons landed safely in Debra Ferguson’s yard, the Free Lance-Star of Fredericksburg reported.
She said one of the men in the balloons pointed up at another still in the air and said he thought it might be in trouble. Ferguson said one of the men in the balloons pointed up at another still in the air and said he thought it might be in trouble.
“As soon as we looked up, the thing blew up right there,” Ferguson told the newspaper. “All I heard was, ‘Oh my God, Oh my God,’ and all you saw was the top of the balloon still flying, but all of the basket was gone. All of the flames just disappeared. . . . It was like a match — poof — and then it was gone.” “As soon as we looked up, the thing blew up right there,” she told the newspaper. “All I heard was, ‘Oh my God, Oh my God,’ and all you saw was the top of the balloon still flying, but all of the basket was gone. All of the flames just disappeared. . . . It was like a match — poof — and then it was gone.”
Caroline County resident Paula Dustin said she and her family and a friend were watching the balloons inflate and take off when they saw one in the distance that appeared to be in distress. Those who knew the University of Richmond basketball staff members spoke of their close relationships, which extended far beyond the basketball court.
“We saw a glow, and you could tell the bottom of the balloon was in flames,” Dustin told the newspaper. “The team spends so much time together,” said Donna Chambers, 64, of White Plains, N.Y., whose daughter Cori Chambers is an assistant coach for the team.
Donna Chambers said she broke down in tears Saturday when she heard that Doyle and Lewis were in the accident.
Chambers said that her daughter and Lewis were particularly close friends, taking cooking classes together at the university and sharing a room when they traveled for games. She said her daughter is on a cruise and she has been unable to reach her to tell her the news.
“It’s terrible,” she said. “My girl would have been with them if she was here.”
amy.brittain@washpost.com
amy.brittain@washpost.com
Jennifer Jenkins and Rachel Sadon contributed to this report.