Hot Air Balloon Carrying 16 People Crashes in Lockhart, Texas … There Are No Survivors

TERRIBLE …

A hot air balloon carrying at least 16 people caught fire and crashed in a field in central Texas, IN Lockhart, Saturday morning. According to reports, there were no survivors.  The Associated Press stated that the balloon was operated by Heart of Texas Hot Air Balloon Rides, which is based in New Braunfels, outside of San Antonio.

A hot air balloon carrying at least 16 people caught fire and crashed in a field in central Texas Saturday morning, officials said, adding that there were no survivors.

Officials with the Texas Department of Public Safety told the Austin American-Statesman newspaper that 16 people were killed when the balloon crashed in Lockhart, about 30 miles south of Austin.

However, federal investigators would not confirm the exact number of deaths. Erik Grosof of the National Transportation Safety Board would only say that there were “a number of fatalities.”

Caldwell County Sheriff Daniel C. Law told The Associated Press that it’s the kind of situation where people can walk up and buy a ticket, unlike an airplane, which would have a list of names.

Late Saturday, two officials told the Associated Press that the balloon was operated by Heart of Texas Hot Air Balloon Rides, which is based in New Braunfels, outside of San Antonio. Local media outlets identified the pilot as Skip Nichols, who owned the business and was believed to be in his late-40s.

On a personal note, my hearts and prayers go out to those lost and their families, but I also have to ask the question … 16 people aboard a hot air balloon? I have honestly never heard of so many people aboard a balloon at one time. Could there have been too much weight on board that made it impossible for the balloon to ascend high enough to avoid the high tension lines?

UPDATE I: Newlyweds, a preschool teacher, a young mother among the 16 dead in worst hot air balloon crash in US history.

The newlyweds of just six months boarded the big, rectangular basket early Saturday morning, anticipating a hot air balloon ride that would float them high over the pasture lands of rural Lockhart, Texas, just as the sun peaked above the horizon.

It was a birthday present from her to him, according to reports, one Matt and Sunday Rowan, both 34, had had a hard time scheduling.

Saturday finally fit.

The couple met the Heart of Texas Hot Air Balloon Rides pilot and 13 other passengers in a Walmart parking lot at 5:45 a.m., officials said, then traveled to an airpark for their 6:45 a.m. departure. The crew was delayed by about 20 minutes.

Soon they took off, dangling below a red, white and blue balloon, large yellow faces smiling out from the design.

UPDATE II: Texas Hot Air Balloon Likely Hit Power Lines Before Crash.

 A hot air balloon that crashed in Texas, killing all 16 people on board, likely hit power lines before it plummeted to the ground, the National Transportation Board said Sunday.

A fire broke out on the balloon but it was not clear whether this happened before or after it hit the electrical wires near the town of Lockhart on Saturday, NTSB board member Robert Sumwalt said.

Investigators have gathered 14 of the victims’ recording devices — including cellphones, cameras and an iPad — and hope to piece together what happened. Sumwalt asked that any witnesses also turn over any videos or pictures they may have taken before the crash.

Heart of Texas Hot Air Balloon Rides has a Better Business Bureau rating of D+ and a Yelp rating of 1.5 stars, mostly due to complaints about canceled and rescheduled flights.

The type of balloon that crashed Saturday has been involved in at least one other accident since 2011, according to the NTSB’s Sumwalt.