The National Transportation Safety Board confirmed that a hot air balloon in Caldwell County struck power lines before catching on fire, killing all 16 people on board Saturday morning.
The accident occurred shortly after 7:40 a.m in the 700 block of Jolly Road.
The NTSB told KVUE's Jennifer Auh Monday morning that investigators will speak with ground crews that followed the flight that crashed from below. They hope to learn more about the conversations between the ground crew and the pilot via iPhones and and iPad.
In a press conference Sunday afternoon, the NTSB stated that the balloon was a Czech-made model which has a history of crashes.
Investigators also said there may have been fog in the area when the crash happened.
But for now, NTSB said their primary focus is gathering as much information as possible from the crash site. So far, NTSB investigators said they have recovered what is left of the balloon, cell phones, cameras and an iPad used by the pilot. They said they have 14 personal electronic devices that may have captured the crash from the sky. Once all of the time-sensitive evidence is gathered they will take it to their labs in Washington D.C. for examination, NTSB officials said.
“Right now, we have iPhones and iPads that look very damaged, and so we’re not positive we can recover anything from the chips, but I’m cautiously optimistic that we’ll get something from those, but it will be a long painstaking process,” said Robert Sumwalt of the NTSB Board.
At this point, investigators have finished looking through the crash site, so the wreckage is ready to be moved. The remains of the balloon will be sent to a storage facility in Dallas on Monday.
Sumwalt said they will release a preliminary report in the next week or so. The final results are expected to take a year.
Another important aspect of this investigation is witness testimony and recordings, according to Sumwalt. If you have photographs or video of this incident, you’re asked to turn them over to NTSB by emailing witness@NTSB.gov.
As of Sunday morning, the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Federal Aviation Administration have also joined the investigation.
NTSB also stated all the bodies of the 16 people killed have been recovered from the site.
Close friends told KVUE that the pilot of the hot air balloon, Skip Nichols, was killed in the crash. According to his Facebook page, Nichols was the Chief Pilot for Heart of Texas Hot Air Balloon Rides. The company announced on their Facebook page Sunday evening they were suspending operations following the crash.
The identities of seven other people have been confirmed with KVUE by family and friends. Joe and Tresa Shafer Owens from Katy, Texas along with Holly Huckabee were identified by close friends. Friends confirmed Matt and Sunday Rowan, a married couple from San Antonio, were on board. Mother and daughter Lorilee and Paige Brabson also from San Antonio were on board as well. Family members from Colorado Springs, Colorado told KVUE Paige had her first child a few months ago and planned the trip with her mom as a Mother's Day gift.
The balloon company has been identified as Heart of Texas Hot Air Balloon Rides. According to their website, they service the Austin, San Antonio and Houston areas and each flight can carry up to 24 people. NTSB did confirm that the balloon company was operating legally and that the pilot was licensed to fly the hot air balloon.
The company is not accredited by the Better Business Bureau and has a D+ rating. On their BBB Business Review, Heart of Texas Hot Air Balloon Rides had six complaints with BBB in the last three years. The most recent complaint claimed that a flight reservation was rescheduled and the complainant was unable to get a refund from the company. Heart of Texas Hot Air Balloon Rides responded to the complaint, citing weather and their terms that customers agree to when they sign up for a flight.
According to KVUE's news partners at the Austin American-Statesman, Nichols, who lived in Missouri before moving to Texas, was arrested in Missouri in 2000 for a felony driving while intoxicated charge. The Statesman said the case was resolved two years later when he pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor version of the charge.
The Statesman also sited a report from the St. Louis Post-Dispatch that stated in 2008 that the Better Business Bureau had warned customers about doing business with Nichols.
People who live near the crash scene described hearing a sound like an explosion.
Margaret Wiley, who lives on Jolly Road near the crash scene, said, "I first thought the neighbors had a tractor out there and it exploded."
Another neighbor, Don Schulle, also heard the crash. "I heard a loud, like a gunfire, explosion and a little bit later I heard another one."
Schulle said he drove down the train tracks to see what was happening.
"You could tell it was a fire, a big ball of flames," Schulle said.
Texas Gov. Greg Abbott issued a statement on the crash that read:
"Cecilia and I extend our deepest condolences for all those who have been affected by today’s heartbreaking tragedy. Our thoughts and prayers are with the victims and their families, as well as the Lockhart community. The investigation into the cause of this tragic accident will continue, and I ask all of Texas to join us in praying for those lost."
Texas Sen. Ted Cruz released the following statement on the crash:
“Heidi and I lift up in prayer all who have been impacted by today’s tragic accident in Lockhart and send our condolences to all who have lost their loved ones. As always, Texans are strong in the face of adversity, and we all stand together in support of the families and entire Lockhart community as they respond to and begin to heal from this terrible incident.”
Erik Grosof with the National Transportation Safety Board said that a full investigation into the accident will begin on Sunday when more federal officers arrive.
Deadly hot air balloon crashes are rare over the last few decades. There have been four hot air balloon crashes this year with just one being a fatal crash. According to the NTSB, there have been 124 balloon fatalities since 1964.
One of the deadliest hot air balloon crashes was in February 2013 when a hot air balloon flying over Luxor, Egypt caught fire and plunged 1,000 feet to the ground killing at least 19 foreign tourists, according to USA Today.
Priya Sridhar, a reporter for KVUE's sister station in San Antonio, KENS 5, reported that balloon pilots must have a license and go through a flight review every two years, per the FAA. Sridhar also reported that hot air balloons used for commercial ventures are inspected by the FAA at least once a year.
According to the Associated Press, the FAA was warned by accident investigators two years ago of the potential for large numbers of hot air balloon deaths. Investigators recommended greater safety oversight of commercial operators, but the FAA rejected those recommendations. FAA Administrator Michael Huerta said that the regulations were unnecessary because the risks were too low, according to the AP.
The following are some of the worst recreational hot air balloon crashes recorded, according to the AP:
- Feb. 26, 2013: A hot air balloon flying over Luxor, Egypt, caught fire and plunged 1,000 feet (300 meters) to the ground, crashing into a sugar cane field and killing at least 19 foreign tourists.
- Aug. 23, 2012: Six people died and 26 were injured when a hot air balloon carrying 32 people, mostly tourists including some children, caught fire and crashed near the Slovenian capital of Ljubljana.
- Jan. 07, 2012: A hot air balloon struck power lines near Carterton, New Zealand, and exploded, crashing to the ground. All 11 people on board were killed.
- Oct. 14, 2009: Four Dutch tourists were killed in Guangxi, China, after pilots lost control and their hot air balloon burst into flames and crashed.
- Aug. 26, 2001: Six people including a child were killed when their hot air balloon touched a power line at Verrens-Arvey, in southwestern France.
- June 17, 1999: Four passengers were killed when their hot air balloon hit a power line near Ibbenburen, Germany.
- Jan. 31, 1996: Five people died in the Bernese Alps, Switzerland, when their hot air balloon crashed into a mountainside at a height of 8,000 feet (2,400 meters).
- Aug. 8, 1993: Six people were killed when their balloon hit a power line near Aspen, Colorado, tearing off the basket and sending it plunging 100 feet (30 meters) to the ground.
- Dec. 11, 1990: Four people died near downtown Columbus, Ohio, after their hot air balloon hit a television tower and deflated.
- Oct. 6, 1990: Four people were killed in a balloon crash at Gaenserndorf, near Vienna.
- Aug. 13, 1989: Thirteen people were killed when their hot air balloon collided with another over the Australian outback near the town of Alice Springs. The two balloons were flying at an altitude of 2,000 feet (600 meters) when one plunged to the ground after the collision.
- Oct. 3, 1982: An explosion on board a hot air balloon carrying nine people at a festival in Albuquerque, New Mexico, killed four people and injured five.
- Aug. 6, 1981: Five people were killed and one seriously injured when a hot air balloon caught fire after touching electrical wires and crashed in a suburb of Chicago.
- 1785: Two Frenchmen attempting to cross the English Channel in a hot-air balloon were killed when their balloon caught fire and crashed, in possibly the first fatal aviation accident.
