4 dead, 1 critical after hot air balloon crash in Eloy
https://www.azfamily.com/2024/01/14/4-d ... shed-eloy/
ELOY, AZ (3TV/CBS 5) — Four people are dead, and one person is in critical condition after a tragic hot-air balloon crash just north of Eloy on Sunday morning. The Eloy Police Department said in a Facebook post that the crash happened around 7:50 a.m. near Sunshine Boulevard and Hanna Road.
What led to the crash is under investigation by the National Transportation Safety Board and FAA. The NTSB says that the crash involved a Cameron Balloons A160 hot air balloon, which hit the desert terrain after a problem with the aircraft’s envelope or balloon.
The Eloy Police Department is also conducting an investigation into the hot air balloon crash. They said that the aircraft had lifted off with eight skydivers and five people on board who were not skydiving. Police say all skydivers jumped from the balloon and completed their planned skydiving event when, shortly after, something went wrong. “Shortly thereafter, something catastrophic occurred with the balloon, causing it to crash to the ground,” said Eloy Police Chief Byron Gwaltney.
Eloy police say firefighters pulled the victims out of the crash. One person died at the scene, while 4 others were rushed to a hospital. Authorities say three people later died, and another is in critical condition at a Phoenix-area trauma center. Police said all of the victims are adults but have not released their names as next of kin needs to be notified and added that not all of the victims are local to Arizona.
Police say they do not know the intended flight plan of the hot air balloon or any information on wind conditions at the time the balloon was in the air. Gwaltney says that the hot air balloon came from outside of Eloy with the skydivers’ intent to jump into the Eloy Municipal Airport, which is a large skydiving center. They are working with NTSB to interview witnesses and investigate the crash.
“The incident appeared to occur very quickly. It’s just an absolute tragedy for our community and for the people that we’re working with today,” said Gwaltney.
Family says one of the people who died in the hot air balloon crash was 28-year-old Katie Bartrom of Fort Wayne, Indiana. Bartrom’s mother, Jennifer Hubartt, said that Katie recently became a registered nurse in Fort Wayne and loved cats, adventure and traveling. Skydiving was one of her passions, and Hubartt says Bartrom came to Arizona this weekend to go skydiving with some of her friends. Hubartt says her daughter did not jump and was a spectator who tragically died in the crash and passed away doing what she loved. Bartrom leaves behind a twin sister, a younger brother and sister as well as her mother and stepfather. The names and ages of the other victims have not been released.
“The city of Eloy is a close-knit community with a high, very large skydive community presence here. We have the world’s largest drop zone, and so when this occurs in our community, it affects us,” said Eloy Mayor Micah Powell.
This is the deadliest balloon crash since 2021, when five people died following a balloon crash in Albuquerque. The NTSB has investigated 30 balloons that crashed in Arizona since 2000. The last deadly balloon crash in the state was in 2005 when one person was killed, and 10 were injured after a hot air balloon crash in Marana.
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Hot Air Balloon Down in AZ, 4 Dead
Re: Hot Air Balloon Down in AZ, 4 Dead
Faulty 'envelope' may have led to hot air balloon crash that left 4 dead in Arizona
The National Transportation Safety Board said in a statement that investigators had not found any mechanical anomalies. They separated the balloon from the basket, which carries passengers, and “everything appears to be intact.”
https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/fa ... rcna134266
ELOY, Ariz. — An “unspecified problem” with the "envelope" of a hot air balloon may have led to Sunday’s crash in the Arizona desert that left four people dead and another critically injured, federal authorities said Tuesday.
The "envelope" is the bag that fills with hot air to make the balloon rise.
The National Transportation Safety Board said in a statement that investigators had not found any mechanical anomalies. They separated the balloon from the basket, which carries passengers, and “everything appears to be intact.”
“An electronic device that could have relevant flight information and a video camera have been sent to NTSB headquarters in Washington, D.C., for further analysis,” the agency said. The balloon’s maintenance records and information on the pilot’s flight experience have been collected.
Eloy police said the Federal Aviation Administration also was assisting in the investigation.
Authorities said 13 people were aboard the Kubicek BB 85 Z hot air balloon when it took off. Eight were skydivers who exited the gondola before the crash around 7:45 a.m. Sunday in Eloy, about 65 miles southeast of Phoenix.
Eloy Mayor Micah Powell said witnesses told investigators that the balloon itself appeared deflated, with its material “just straight up and down” seconds before a hard impact in an empty field that serves as a drop zone for skydivers.
The dead included pilot Cornelius van der Walt, 37, of Eloy; and three passengers: 28-year-old Kaitlynn “Katie” Bartrom of Andrews, Indiana; 28-year-old Chayton Wiescholek of Union City, Michigan; and 24-year-old Atahan Kiliccote of Cupertino, California.
Authorities said a 23-year-old woman frpm the Phoenix suburb of Scottsdale remained hospitalized in critical condition Tuesday.
Van der Walt was the founder of Droplyne Hot Air Balloon Rides that operates in Arizona and Utah, according to the company’s website.
Droplyne conducts daily flights up to 10,000 feet in elevation from the Eloy area November to April and from Moab, Utah, during the spring and summer.
The website also said Droplyne was founded in 2017 and had “a perfect safety record.”
A call to the company Tuesday seeking comment wasn’t immediately returned.
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The National Transportation Safety Board said in a statement that investigators had not found any mechanical anomalies. They separated the balloon from the basket, which carries passengers, and “everything appears to be intact.”
https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/fa ... rcna134266
ELOY, Ariz. — An “unspecified problem” with the "envelope" of a hot air balloon may have led to Sunday’s crash in the Arizona desert that left four people dead and another critically injured, federal authorities said Tuesday.
The "envelope" is the bag that fills with hot air to make the balloon rise.
The National Transportation Safety Board said in a statement that investigators had not found any mechanical anomalies. They separated the balloon from the basket, which carries passengers, and “everything appears to be intact.”
“An electronic device that could have relevant flight information and a video camera have been sent to NTSB headquarters in Washington, D.C., for further analysis,” the agency said. The balloon’s maintenance records and information on the pilot’s flight experience have been collected.
Eloy police said the Federal Aviation Administration also was assisting in the investigation.
Authorities said 13 people were aboard the Kubicek BB 85 Z hot air balloon when it took off. Eight were skydivers who exited the gondola before the crash around 7:45 a.m. Sunday in Eloy, about 65 miles southeast of Phoenix.
Eloy Mayor Micah Powell said witnesses told investigators that the balloon itself appeared deflated, with its material “just straight up and down” seconds before a hard impact in an empty field that serves as a drop zone for skydivers.
The dead included pilot Cornelius van der Walt, 37, of Eloy; and three passengers: 28-year-old Kaitlynn “Katie” Bartrom of Andrews, Indiana; 28-year-old Chayton Wiescholek of Union City, Michigan; and 24-year-old Atahan Kiliccote of Cupertino, California.
Authorities said a 23-year-old woman frpm the Phoenix suburb of Scottsdale remained hospitalized in critical condition Tuesday.
Van der Walt was the founder of Droplyne Hot Air Balloon Rides that operates in Arizona and Utah, according to the company’s website.
Droplyne conducts daily flights up to 10,000 feet in elevation from the Eloy area November to April and from Moab, Utah, during the spring and summer.
The website also said Droplyne was founded in 2017 and had “a perfect safety record.”
A call to the company Tuesday seeking comment wasn’t immediately returned.
PP
Re: Hot Air Balloon Down in AZ, 4 Dead
Whilst I appreciate that 'plunging' from thousands of feet can be deleterious, I imagined that hotair balloon failures might be gentle affairs.
Re: Hot Air Balloon Down in AZ, 4 Dead
The worst is when an envelope somehow catches fire.
The nylon goes up very fast.
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The nylon goes up very fast.
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