It's true that the wind is the only way to steer, but balloonists tend to be weather geeks, and go to great lengths to understand weather patterns. If this was, in fact, a powerline strike, in the absence of equipment failure, it was completely avoidable. By all accounts, the winds were light enough that, if the power lines were sighted in time, there's no reason the balloon couldn't have avoided them. Either no one spotted the lines in time (which meant people weren't looking hard enough), there was a burner failure, or the balloon was overloaded. For now, none of that is known, so I will just express my condolences to the families of those involved, and hope that something is learned from this tragedy that makes the wonderful sport of ballooning safer.

Also having that many people in the balloon would cause the balloon to require to burn more propane, to increase lift. I would think there was to much live wheight in the balloon. The pilot makes money buy how many ride, and how many times he goes up for flight! And that's true from above statement, the pilot and crew are always paying attention to weather patterns, and wind intensity, thats paromont. Once the balloon begins to lose lift, the pilot would have to increase flame height to warm the air in the balloon. Those poor souls had no way out, but prayer to our Lord and Savior.

having that many people in the balloon would cause the balloon to require to burn more propane, to increase lift.

True, but of course any balloon rated to carry that many passengers would also have a commensurate amount of burner power. The real difference with big balloons is reaction time. You need to be able to spot obstacles farther out, because the system needs more time to respond to the heat. Smaller balloons are more maneuverable, but large ones are quite safe if flown with the proper care. Ultimately, it's all the pilot's responsibility, but if there were an equipment failure such as a burner malfunction while on a collision course with powerlines, there's not much that can be done. Smaller balloons have bigger margins; I do prefer them to the ride buses.

Never put all your eggs in one basket.

I never liked those damn balloons. I live near a hot air balloon company and see those things flying tourists around all the time. I can't tell you how many times I seen them come down in parking lots, a baseball field or other open fields because they ran out of air. When we first moved here, one came down across the street from us. That was freaky. So far, no deaths, though a lot of hard landings. You'll never find me in one of those things.

Power lines are what you keep clear from....well known fact. What was that guy thinking ? You really have to think ahead considering wind mainly, then there are other things you have zero control over.....you are really a sitting duck.

I took a ride in one, ( once ) and it was really fun but certainly you are helpless. When the time came to put us down, the pilot had trouble keeping it down. We went on dragging everywhere in the bushes...scrapping....I was hiding in the basket so I would be safe in there. There were no more than 4 of us. I think 11 was too many and he got overloaded. Could not get the lift he needed. Poor people.

The more weight, the more inertia, the longer the reaction time. Power lines are very difficult to spot from the air. Local pilot would have, should have, known. RIP families. RIP. A tragedy. I hope the surviving family members can find some peace in their hearts and mind. I can not even imagine how the kids are feeling after having given their parents a ride as a X-mas gift. My father's dream is to go on one of these. I fly just about everything with wings or rotors. I just can not put myself into one of these things where there are flames going into a fabric envelope.

Power line are one of the hardest things to see from the air ! This may be the cause .

Even when you can see the poles you can not hardly see the lines that run between them . Yes one would guess that there are lines along the poles and I have to think that the Pilot had run into trouble during the flight . I wonder if the two who jumped survived ? As they may be able to shed some light on what happened.

The best thing to do is to wait for the investigators to finish their job as they are very good at finding out what caused a crash !

My prayers go out to the family's of this crash .

People - just click on the little box to the right of where one votes and collapse Perry. I can't believe that it hasn't already been done.

JJ,

No kidding. My God if it's not a Helicopter it's a Hot Air Balloon ... I just scratched 2 things to do off of my Bucket List..

Condolences to families.

dano,

I've created a "Phucket List". Things that I have no interest in doing....I just added one more!

schoolyard, LOL..!!!

Good one Schoolyard ..

it really is no one likes you my name is brandon oram

no one likes some dude

Ouch! Touche'. and well deserved.

Or perhaps testicular elephantitus?

You just made me think of breakfast club...anyway what a horrible tragedy...very unfortunate...damn natural selection...or divine intervention

I live near Denver and they have a lot of hot air balloons. They are so pretty to watch. I could not imagine being on the ground watching someone I know up there and this happen. What a horrible accident. God Bless all these family and friends, and may they find peace at some point.

There are balloons designed to take up to 20 passengers. One question in my mind, though, is the possibility that this particular balloon was overloaded. That's just one possibility among many, though, so I'm reserving judgment until after an investigation.

I am a private pilot in NM as well and from what we can initally tell pilot error would be the case. If indeed they hit a powerline the pilot and crew should have know that these obstacles were there. I have flown since I was 7 years old and for all of you out there that want to scratch this off your bucket list I would think twice....I find it so relaxing and enjoyable to float above mother earth and at times be dangled by god over the venues and vistas below. Too see the faces and hear people after a first flight is the most enjoyable thing of all. I personally only fly smaller balloons and am NOT a fan of what I call "PIG" class balloons. I will NEVER become a commercial pilot just due to the fact that you are at times forced to fly when you should not be becasue of the $$$ factor......My prayers are for the ones that were lost today, it is indeed tragic.

"The balloon "pilots" need no license to operate, fly, or take passengers": On all three counts, Rob, you are incorrect. Balloon PILOTS need to have their private license and then take a further intensive course before piloting a balloon, which is a specialty, same as they do to operate a helicopter.

You're an idiot and also quite ignorant. You're far more likely to die in a car crash than in a hot air balloon. Of course, a lower life form such as yourself wouldn't consider this before making such brash, useless statements.

Rob, I won't belabor the obvious factual errors in your post; I will only point out that of the many thousands of hours of balloon flights that take place worldwide every year, fatal accidents are so rare as to be internationally newsworthy, even without lurid photos. Many recreational pursuits are more dangerous, but get less press because their mishaps are not as publicly visible and don't make for such grisly photos. If you don't want to fly in a balloon, don't, but don't go slandering a sport about which you clearly know nothing.

Miskaffon is correct; balloon pilots go through rigorous training and are licensed by that countries governing body (Civil Aviation Authority - CAA in the UK and Federal Aviation Administration - FAA in the US). Emergency response is part of the hands-on training plus other competencies that align with fixed-wing flight. Beyond the private pilots license, there is more rigorous training for commercial flights that take paying passengers; much the same as an airline pilot. There is truth in what others are saying, steerage is by the wind, changing altitude to track a course. There are propane tanks on board, the same as those in used in industry (fork-lift trucks).

Anyway this post is in part to give more information but primarily to express my sadness for those directly involved in the flight, and families who now have to face the loss of a loved one.

Diana

Very well said Diana, I'm glad to see fellow pilot helping to inform poeple. As a fixed-wing pilot I can only speek of the Federal Aviation Regulations. Happy flying!

Cheers!

JTF: You've gone beyond just objectively expressing a contrary viewpoint, and now you just sound smug. Can YOU tell us whether the pilot complied with the applicable regulations?

Do what you think you should do, but that doesn't make you superior to people who choose differently. This isn't about you. It's beneath this forum to turn tragic deaths into a dissertation about how much better you live your life than the way they lived theirs.

Miskaffon - "Balloon PILOTS need to have their private license and then take a further intensive course before piloting a balloon, which is a specialty, same as they do to operate a helicopter."

balloon pilots get the same training and license as a helicopter pilot ?

I'm not educated in this field, but somehow I really doubt it.

I see hot air balloons flying all summer where I live, and I find it hard to believe that all those people are trained helicopter pilots...

balloon pilots get the same training and license as a helicopter pilot ?

I'm not educated in this field, but somehow I really doubt it.

The training is comparable, yes. Extensive knowledge of the FARs, ability to read a sectional, airspace protocols, written exam, ability to demonstrate mastery of each component of the system, assembly, disassembly - is there some reason beyond your unexplained personal prejudice why you think hot-air balloon pilots don't receive training and certification comparable to pilots of rotorcraft?

Rob it is fun and very safe...When contolled and not flying 11 people at once......This sport was NOT desinged for this......Take it from someone who flies almost every week of the year.....I feel safer in the air than on the ground driving my car.....To each his own I guess....

Dave, is'nt it amazing how people think sometimes. Happy flying

Roger that Ted, I feel the same way in my fixed-wing aircraft.

Just the Facts...... nature or god can kill you in your car so I take it you won't be driving any longer??? As my father used to say.....It was their time......and there is NOT a thing you can do when it's YOUR time.....

Just The Facts-

Have you ever considered a crazy thing like getting on a commercial airliner? This is a machine that weighs as much as a train and then trys to fly 40,000 feet above the ground! There are literally thousands of components that could potentially fail and bring down the airplane. A death trap!... and yet statistically, you are FAR safer flying in a commercial airliner than driving in a car.

If you're afraid to live, then you are already dead!

My point being, that one tragic balloon accident does not mean or indicate that the sport of hot air ballooning is a dangerous activity

Just the Facts....you keep bringing up this is a "Rich" persons sport???? I know plenty of balloonists that are far from "Rich" in fact check your facts balloons were invented by two french papermakers.....hardly rich!!! Ballooning is no more dangerous than drinking the water in New Jersey/New York, taking a walk through central park, swimming in the ocean and being attacked by a school of fish or a shark for that matter....Where the hell do you live in a glass bubble??? Hell you could die while typing out another crazy post on the internet!!! You may get a "Virus" hahahaha.. I hate to use this forum because 11 people lost their life, but our world is large and the fact is people die every day, rich, middle class and poor.......If you don't like balloons so be it....but the fact in this case is the pilot was in error, should have known his capabilities and surroundings.....and whos to say that one of those poor people who decided not to go would have not choked to death eating lunch or driving home.......LIVE YOUR LIFE don't be scared to LIVE IT!!!! I"M DONE HERE!!! Out to go flying and enjoy GOD, the wind, the outdoors, friends, sunshine, and a GREAT TIME!!!!!

and you also won't get anywhere in life.

To be certain you will never die IN a hot air balloon crash if you never get IN one. That being said one should educate ones self on statistics, the company/person you are flying with, etc. to make a educated risk/reward decision.

Or you can realize that you have no control when your time is up and live life to the fullest while you can.

JTF....people don't go up in a hot air balloon to prove they are rich or special or immortal..and you don't have to be any of those things to go.....they do it because its an amazing experience...and quite beautiful....also, for the most part, extremely safe. You sound jealous and bitter when you call those people stupid. You also sound like someone who never does anything with his life for fear of ...well...everything....how sad for you. How sad that you feel you have the right to judge something you obviously know nothing about.

Just The Facts,

It's so amazing to read post from a person with a name such as yours and realize that that person has in no way shape or form realized the irony of having such a name while making such outlandish, non-factual, fear mongering, and hateful statements. Thank you. Thank you for reminding me that the internet is full of people who have no @!$%#ing sense of their own retardation; I had been up for a quick toilet break and had forgotten.

"I want to live to a ripe old age so I do absolutely nothing out of doors beyond walking to and from my vehicle."

You are implying, factually, that staying inside will insure that you live to a "ripe old age." There is no proof that staying locked-up inside will insure you live longer. It just insures you will not die from things that can kill you outside of your home. Though, wouldn't it be @!$%#ing hilarious if a skydiver fell through your roof and killed you while you were jerking-off the the Disney Channel?

"How extreme does a person have to go to have fun and show that they are special?"

You are implying that the purpose of someone doing something dangerous is to show that they are special. If you stopped at, "to have fun" I would be less inclined to call you out on this one. Unless you've surveyed or can find a survey on why people do dangerous activities that gives evidence to your claim, you are making @!$%# up.

"A person can also calculate not to take any risks of the adventerous sort and live to be ninety."

You are implying that a person can calculate risks and insure they live to be ninety. Completely ignoring the fact that life is chaos, and we can die at any moment.

"But those gut-wrenching activities have their place in the grand scheme of things for people who believe that they are too skillful to get hurt or die."

You are implying that people who do dangerous activities believe that they can't get hurt or die. Again, unless you've done a survey or know of a survey where people are making these claims, please shut the @!$%# up.

"But how do you prevent the weather? How do you prevent the shark from attacking you out of a million surfers? How do you keep the balloon out of the power lines? The answer is that nobody can do that."

Ahh. I don't even think you are editing your thoughts at this point. What about all the safety precautions that are taken to decrease the chance of dying in a hot-air ballon or while surfing. Yes, nobody can fully prevent bad things from happening, but that's far different from the picture you are painting, which is that it's impossible to prevent bad things from happening.

"I think that most of us love living. We love our families and friends and homes and jobs and friends and hobbies and about a hundred different things."

You are implying that enjoying life is strictly expressed in survival. While it is true that most people like to be alive, as opposed to dead, I wouldn't be making an extreme claim if I said that the quality of life is important. For example, would you rather be alive in a prison with men raping you everyday or dead? I would assume dead. Anyway, my main point is that people would rather be doing the things they enjoy than be sitting in their home trying not to die.

"I just wish that the fates would let me be somewhat rich so I could get me a place on a fishing lake in Georgia or Tennesse or Arkansas or some state with mainly warm weather and I would just be fishing every day and not bother nobody and be perhaps the happiest person on Earth with the least other wants."

So, there has never been a fatal fishing accident, ever, in the history of mankind?

"But it is also sort of ironic because they put their very lives at risk just to experience something and talk about it later at cocktail parties."

Again, you have no idea the reasons why people do what they do. You just assume you know because your a dick.

"Actually hot air ballooning is a dangerous activity. It is all very real risk and no tangible reward."

There are no tangible rewards for you. Not to mention, rewards don't have to be strictly tangible. You've brought up god a few times. So, if you are only interested in tangible rewards, I guess you're going to have to rethink that god thing.

"Choosing very dangerous activities just to prove that you are rich and special and immortal and bulletproof is not always the best strategy."

Again, you have no idea why people do what the day.

Basically, you are conceding that you are a complete moron.

Right...

R.M.

We went on a ballon ride last August in Wyoming at the base of the Grand Teton Mountains. Was unbeleivable. The pilot was very knowledgable about the aircraft and the surrounding area, and he said he had a license for about 30 years. It was very gentle...no surprises at all. We went up to 4000 ft.

jf: Agreed. Every flight I've been on has been beautiful, serene and unforgettable. If you look at the statistics, you're less likely to be hurt on a balloon flight than in dozens of other recreational pursuits that are considered safe. I understand wanting to avoid something that seems scary from the outside; what I don't understand is attacking it in a public forum from a place of ignorance (referring more to Rob-string-of-numbers than to R.M., here).

Sorry Houston but he's not that smart,

You do know, don't you, that someone (Ultramagic?) just released a partitioned basket designed to carry Pilot + 20? 11 is a lot, but hardly a record.

glad to see fellow pilots out there helping to inform the public. I've thought that hot air ballons would be neat to go for a ride in someday, but i do admit i like an engine and flying upside down. But like a glider i bet It's a whole new experience.

ap: a lot of fixed-wing pilots fall for ballooning simply because it is such a departure. Many are quoted as standing in the basket at altitude and saying "you know, I have studied weather endlessly, but I never really understood it until now." I strongly encourage at least one LTA flight for any fixed- or rotor-wing pilot. I just about guarantee you'll get more out of it than you expect.

Dave, I also have studied weather even taking meteorology in college. I'll have to put that on my to do list sounds like fun. Happy flying

By the way do you go to any of the EAA fly-in's?

just the facts huh, well, you should consider the fact that only a fraction of people ride balloons compared to those who drive. think about it, and consider those facts.

similar to the stats regarding flying in passenger airplanes. sure you are more likely to die in a car than in a plane, because the number of cars in the world DWARFS the number of planes, FACTS AND NUMBERS.

neither of these reasonings give me any comfort in flying in an airplane or any balloon.

Fireblade, you're confusing the numbers and per capita rate statistics. There are by far more cars on the planet than planes. It's because there are more people in those more numerous cars that makes it statistically more dangerous versus the fewer planes with large passenger manifests.