Yesterday in Lockhart, Texas, a hot air balloon crashed into overhead high-voltage power lines, causing it to go down, resulting in the death of all passengers onboard. It is believed that there were a total of 16 people in the hot air balloon’s basket.
The initial reports state that the crash occurred at about 7:40 a.m. on Saturday with a witness hearing two explosions. The hot air balloon caught fire before crashing in a large pasture.
The Federal Aviation Administration, National Transportation Safety Board, and Federal Bureau of Investigation are investigating to determine the cause of the crash and what went wrong. Two years ago, the NTSB made recommendations to the FAA regarding the operation of hot air balloons and increased safety oversight. The FAA rejected the recommendations at the time.
The site where the hot air balloon crashed was just below the overhead power lines that stand 4-5 stories tall, just 30 miles south of Austin.
Officials familiar with the investigation say that the hot air balloon was operated by a company called Heart of Texas Hot Air Balloon Rides.
Names of those on board were not released.
