Balloon crash update - Curt Lewis

Pilot In Fatal Hot Air Balloon Crash Had Drunk Driving, Drug Convictions The balloon's basket caught fire after hitting power lines and killed 16 people in the crash. The pilot killed along with 15 other people in the crash of a hot air balloon in central Texas on Saturday had numerous convictions for drunk driving and at least one drug-related charge dating back to 1990, according to online records. The balloon, flown by Heart of Texas Hot Air Balloon Rides chief pilot and owner Alfred "Skip" Nichols, hit a power line, setting its basket on fire, and plummeted into a pasture near Lockhart, about 30 miles (50 km) south of the state capital Austin, killing all aboard. Authorities have not yet issued findings of their investigation into the cause of the crash. Online records in Missouri's St. Louis County show Nichols pleaded guilty to drunk driving charges at least three times between 1990 and 2010, as well as several other vehicular charges. Authorities investigate the site in Maxwell, Texas where a hot air balloon crash killed 16 people on July 30, 2016. The pilot of that crash had convictions for drunk driving and drugs. In 2000, he also pleaded guilty to a drug-related charge and spent time in prison, according to criminal records. Following his 2010 conviction for drunk driving, Nichols was sentenced to seven years in prison and was released on parole in January 2012 after less than a year and a half. In a statement on its Facebook page, the company expressed its condolences to those killed in the crash. "There are simply no words to express our profound sadness at this event that has taken away so many of our loved ones," it said in a Facebook post. The company said it has not been in contact with the relatives of those killed in the crash as it is being probed by U.S. investigators. It could not be reached for further comment. The names of the passengers killed have not been officially released but social media posts and local media reports indicate the victims included a couple celebrating their 23rd wedding anniversary with a balloon ride at sunrise. Aerial television footage showed flattened remnants of the red, white and blue balloon, adorned with a yellow smiley face wearing sunglasses. The U.S. National Transportation Safety Board two years ago recommended greater oversight of the hot air balloon industry, said Robert Sumwalt, who is heading the federal agency's investigation of the accident. It was the deadliest crash involving a hot air balloon in the Western Hemisphere, according to the Balloon Federation of North America.

Texas Balloon Crash: FAA and NTSB Clash Over Pilots' Disclosure Rules PlayTexas Hot Air Balloon Struck Power Lines Before Crash: NTSB Facebook Twitter Google Plus Embed Texas Hot Air Balloon Struck Power Lines Before Crash: NTSB 1:40 Federal regulations don't appear to have required the pilot of the hot air balloon that crashed in Texas, killing all 16 people aboard, to disclose his past substance abuse issues - an apparent loophole that the lead investigator of the crash called "unacceptable" on Monday. "You need a medical certificate before flying solo in an airplane, helicopter, gyroplane or airship," the Federal Aviation Administration says in its medical regulations for would-be pilots. That certificate must disclose any conditions "that would prevent you from becoming a pilot." But if you're going to pilot a balloon or glider, "you don't need a medical certificate," according to the regulations, which specify: "All you need to do is write a statement certifying that you have no medical defect that would make you unable to pilot a balloon or glider." Investigators at the site where a hot air balloon crashed Sunday west of Lockhart, Texas, killing 16 people. Tamir Kalifa / Redux Pictures The FAA told NBC News that it had no record of any action against the pilot in Saturday's crash, Alfred G. "Skip" Nichols IV, 49, or against his company, Heart of Texas Hot Air Balloon Rides. Missouri court records show, however, that Nichols had an extensive record of driving while impaired and other driving violations dating to 1997, some of them felonies. He had so many violations that while he was licensed to pilot a balloon, at least one court decided he was ineligible to drive a car until June 2020. And Nichols' court file includes a 2013 letter from the FAA itself saying it was investigating his latest DWI case and asking for copies of the paperwork. A spokesman for the FAA told NBC News that some records are expunged after a couple of years. Wendy Bartch of Ballwin, Mo., a close friend for almost 30 years, told NBC News that Nichols struggled with substance abuse for many years, but Bartch said he'd straightened out his life and was "100 percent sober." That makes it unclear whether his alcohol problems in the past made him "unable to pilot" now, and whether he still needed to report them. Robert Sumwalt, a member of the National Transportation Safety Board, wouldn't speculate on a cause of Saturday's crash, including the possibility of pilot error. But the lack of equal medical disclosure "goes back to the issue of oversight of commercial balloon pilots," Sumwalt said, asking, "Should they be held to a higher standard?" To Sumwalt, the answer is yes - and the NTSB told the FAA two years ago, only to be turned down. According to the April 2014 recommendations, "the NTSB believes that air tour balloon operators should be subject to greater regulatory oversight." "The NTSB concludes that passengers who hire air tour balloon operators should have the benefit of a similar level of safety oversight as passengers of air tour airplane and helicopter operations," the agency said. And some within the FAA agree. According to an internal FAA report obtained Monday by NBC News, 29 hot air balloon accidents were reported from March 2010 through August 2012. More than half of them - 16 - "appear to have been commercial tour operations involving multiple passengers," the report said, adding: "[t]his data provides ample justification for enhanced FAA oversight." Detail from an internal Federal Aviation Administration report urging stronger regulation of hot air balloon pilots. "In comparison to other forms of aviating, hot air ballooning is the most volatile," according to the report. And yet, "there is no requirement under the Federal Aviation Regulations" that require tour balloon pilots to submit to drug or alcohol testing, or even to annual training, it said. "Considering that commercial balloon pilots fly up to two dozen passengers (depending upon balloon size), these airmen should be subject to the same requirements imposed on airplane and helicopter air tour pilots," it said. Sumwalt said Monday: "We do see this discontinuity, this disparity, in this level of oversight requirements. We do not feel that the FAA's response to our oversight recommendation was acceptable." Nichols and 15 passengers were killed when the balloon crashed into a pasture near Lockhart, Texas, apparently after having struck power lines, NTSB investigators said. A fire broke out, but it remains unclear whether it erupted before or after the balloon hit the wires. The initial investigation has indicated no existing problems that might have led to the crash, Sumwalt said. Nichols had obtained a proper weather report, which showed clear skies with patchy fog, and the weight load on the balloon appeared to be within its safe flying limits, he said. A maintenance log for the balloon ends in September 2015, Sumwalt said. Current logs were likely aboard the balloon and were destroyed when it crashed, he said. Sumwalt said 14 cellphones were recovered from the scene and were being examined in Washington, D.C., for any clues to what might have happened, while the wreckage itself is being examined in Texas.