Posted on 07/30/2016 9:13:24 AM PDT by gop4lyf
Federal officials said a hot air balloon carrying at least 16 people caught on fire and crashed in Central Texas on Saturday. Caldwell County Sheriff’s Office said there doesn't appear to be any survivors.
"The balloon was occupied and it does not appear at this time that there were any survivors of the crash," Caldwell County Sheriff Daniel Law said in a statement. "Investigators are determining the number and the identities of victims at this time." Lynn Lunsford with the Federal Aviation Administration said in a statement that the accident happened about 8:40 a.m. Saturday near Lockhart, Texas, when the hot air balloon crashed into a pasture.
(Excerpt) Read more at nbcdfw.com ...
I didn’t know that a hot air balloon could could carry so many.
That’s pretty rare. Those balloons don’t crash very often.
Horrible.
Had to get lift in hot conditions, yes?
wonder WHY it crashed?
Thank you as I was just getting ready to post this. RIP to them and prayers to their family and friends.
I do believe that there are or were Freepers who are part of the hot air balloon community.
Sad news ping :...(
Burned and crashed. My guess is the balloon caught fire and there was no chance land before they lost lift.
Well, they actually “crash land” every time they land, but they do try to control the final few feet to be as slow as possible and at as low a speed as possible.
But I only know of 3-5 passengers plus 1 operator. Never this many. Even free falling (if the balloon burns) from a high altitude is slowed by the “parachute” effect of the balloon above the basket.
Condolences to family and friends.
Some Past incidents like this have involved fire in the basket as well as the balloon
I did not either.....seems like a very big endeavor.
Side note, many may know Lockhart as the BBQ capital of Texas. Small town within driving distance of Austin.
Apparently, they can't.
I wonder about a rig jazzed up to support hotter burning for a bigger load that got hit by sustained upper winds that put the envelope too close to the flames and caught fire.
Very tragic. Condolences and sympathies to their loved ones.
https://twitter.com/FCardenasY
Just horrible....
That’s pretty rare. Those balloons don’t crash very often.
...
I remember one many years ago. It caught fire which caused it to ascend rapidly. The people panicked and jumped out. There were no survivors.
I went up in a balloon just once. I can imagine the terror these people went thru.
Prayers
So tragic! We saw a hot air balloon Monday morning on our way home from San Antonio around San Marcos. It had a large basket and a smiley face on the balloon. Prayers for the families!
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