A hot air balloon carrying 16 people caught fire and crashed.

A hot air balloon carrying 16 people caught fire and crashed under power lines, killing all on board in Lockhart, Texas. Lockhart is about 30 miles south of Austin. The company involved has been identified as Heart of Texas Hot Air Balloon Rides. Fox News reports that the accident “happened about 7:40 am… when the hot air balloon crashed into a pasture.”

Caldwell County Sheriff Daniel Law was quoted in a statement, “It does not appear at this time that there weren’t any survivors of the crash.”
According to CNN, the hot air balloon caught fire before it crashed into a field.
An aviation attorney told CNN that the balloon crash would be investigated like any other aviation accident. The pilot’s qualifications will be investigated he said, as will the balloon itself, its burner unit, and the pre-flight planning, the attorney said to CNN.

The pilots of hot air balloons need certification, said CNN.
Hot air balloons rise and lower by increasing the size of the flame, and the pilot controls the flame, said CNN. There could be a situation where a balloon would run into weather conditions or hit a power line, said the CNN expert, but it’s not known whether those things were in play in the Texas balloon crash. However, the Texas balloon’s debris is right below high voltage power lines, said USA Today.

Skip Nichols was the pilot....R.I.P.

how the fk does that happen?? looks like maybe a gas tank exploded?? with the basket being on fire first?

As a fellow balloonist, RIP all involved, and thoughts go out to your families during this tragic times. The first couple hundred feet after takeoff and the last couple hundred feet before landing are the most dangerous while ballooning due to false lift. It can turn the balloon literally upside down or into trees or power lines in a split second. I don't know if that's what happened here or not and the power line caused the eruption, or if it was something to do with the tanks, but I hope they can at least figure out the cause. Skip, the pilot, must have extensive hours and training if he is able to carry 16 passengers. That's an awful lot of weight and liability. Once again, RIP and thoughts to all involved...

I'm sure their chase team (the white enclosed trailer in the video that could only watch and feel helpless) has been interviewed and probably heard from the pilot and knows what happened...sad, very sad.

A little slow on the draw there junior.

http://www.therxforum.com/showthread.php?t=1058411

Man , awful way to go

Enfuego said:

A little slow on the draw there junior.

http://www.therxforum.com/showthread.php?t=1058411

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Should've added video after video and pic after pic, clown.

A look at the deadliest hot air balloon accidents.

A hot air balloon crashed and caught fire Saturday morning in <culink title="" class="culinks" style="color:rgb(51, 51, 51)!important;font-weight:400!important;" href="http://curiyo.com/en/topic/Lockhart, Texas" culang="en">Lockhart, Texas</culink>, about 30 miles outside of Austin. Authorities say it's unlikely the at least 16 people on board survived.

Some of the worst accidents involving recreational hot air balloons:

— May 9, 2014: Three people died during an air balloon festival in Caroline County, Va., when their balloon struck a power line and burst into flames during a landing attempt.

— Feb. 26, 2013: A hot air balloon flying over <culink title="" class="culinks" style="color:rgb(51, 51, 51)!important;font-weight:400!important;" href="http://curiyo.com/en/topic/Luxor" culang="en">Luxor, Egypt</culink>, 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 <culink title="" class="culinks" style="color:rgb(51, 51, 51)!important;font-weight:400!important;" href="http://curiyo.com/en/topic/Ljubljana" culang="en">Ljubljana</culink>.

— Jan. 7, 2012: A hot air balloon struck power lines near <culink title="" class="culinks" style="color:rgb(51, 51, 51)!important;font-weight:400!important;" href="http://curiyo.com/en/topic/Carterton, New Zealand" culang="en">Carterton, New Zealand</culink>, and exploded, crashing to the ground. All 11 people on board were killed.

— Oct. 14, 2009: Four Dutch tourists were killed in <culink title="" class="culinks" style="color:rgb(51, 51, 51)!important;font-weight:400!important;" href="http://curiyo.com/en/topic/Guangxi" culang="en">Guangxi</culink>, 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 <culink title="" class="culinks" style="color:rgb(51, 51, 51)!important;font-weight:400!important;" href="http://curiyo.com/en/topic/Verrens-Arvey" culang="en">Verrens-Arvey</culink>, in southwestern France.

— June 17, 1999: Four passengers were killed when their hot air balloon hit a power line near <culink title="" class="culinks" style="color:rgb(51, 51, 51)!important;font-weight:400!important;" href="http://curiyo.com/en/topic/Ibbenbüren" culang="en">Ibbenburen, Germany</culink>.

— Jan. 31, 1996: Five people died in the <culink title="" class="culinks" style="color:rgb(51, 51, 51)!important;font-weight:400!important;" href="http://curiyo.com/en/topic/Bernese Alps" culang="en">Bernese Alps</culink>, 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 <culink title="" class="culinks" style="color:rgb(51, 51, 51)!important;font-weight:400!important;" href="http://curiyo.com/en/topic/Gänserndorf" culang="en">Gaenserndorf</culink>, 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 <culink title="" class="culinks" style="color:rgb(51, 51, 51)!important;font-weight:400!important;" href="http://curiyo.com/en/topic/English Channel" culang="en">English Channel</culink> in a hot-air balloon were killed when their balloon caught fire and crashed, in possibly the first fatal aviation accident.

Greenbacks2 said:

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Albuquerque, NM?

My first and only hot air balloon ride crash landed. Never again.

Every day on this earth is a gift folks

Too hot to be doing that shit. That's why I don't do shit like this. I don't fuck with heights anyway

Mobdeeper7239 said:

Too hot to be doing that shit. That's why I don't do shit like this. I don't fuck with heights anyway

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You're right, it's too hot, that's why it happened at 7ish in the morn. Only time you can really fly right now is crack of dawn, and right before sunset. It's so tranquil, heights of a skyscraper swaying would bother me more. It's amazing, but like just about anything today, can be deadly.