NTSB: Balloon hit power lines before crashing, killing 16

“It is with extraordinarily heavy hearts that we announce the suspension of operations at Heart of Texas Hot Air Balloon Rides”, the company said Monday on its website. The NTSB has not yet identified the pilot or the passengers.

The balloon, carrying four propane tanks and three burners, had planned to lift off with its passengers right at sunrise Saturday, or around 6:49 a.m., but was delayed around 20 minutes, NTSB member Robert Sumwalt said Sunday. Matt’s brother said they grew up in College Station. The response team said that the devices have been completely destroyed, but Sumwalt remained hopeful that the NTSB specialist team will be able to find some information. It caught fire before heading to the ground.

“That’s the only thing I want to talk about, is that he’s a great pilot”, Lirette said, speaking to AP from a house he shared with Nichols in Kyle, Texas.

Erik Grosof with the National Transportation Safety Board said a full-bore investigation would begin Sunday when more federal officials arrive.

Investigators were still trying to identify the victims, he added.

There were reports of foggy weather in the area around the time of the flight.

Sunday Rowan worked at a clothing store and had a 5-year-old son. “Knowing that they were on that balloon, I saw pictures of the balloon, it was the same one that they were on, my only conclusion when I heard that there were no survivors is that we had lost her and Matt”, she said.

According to Sunday Rowan’s Facebook page, she lived in Springfield from 2001 to 2009. “I think the fact that it is open-unacceptable pretty much speaks for itself”, he said.

“It’s hard, but I want everyone to understand how great our lives were together and how unbelievable these two people are”. But Nichols was identified as the pilot by his friend and roommate Alan Lirette, who said that Nichols was a good pilot.

The page says Tresa had a long career at TigerLane Preschool. “We are concerned that, if no action is taken to address this safety issue, we will continue to see such accidents in the future”, it wrote. Caldwell County officials did not release names of the dead. They include cell phones, one iPad, and three cameras. Everything is laid out clearly for me and the ground crew.

She said Nichols’ alcoholism and criminal record caused tensions with his father, Alfred G. Nichols III, a decorated retired lieutenant colonel who piloted medical evacuation helicopters in the Vietnam War.

But investigators told CNN that recovering usable images or data will be challenging due to the amount of damage. He said every customer rides with intentions on landing safely. “This will be a hard site for us to work through”, Grosof said. Sumwalt said it wasn’t clear if it caught fire before or after impact with the power line. Previously, the highest number of fatalities in a single USA hot air balloon crash was six.

Saturday’s crash was one of the worst hot air balloon accidents on record.

The Federal Aviation Administration said the crash occurred around 7:40 a.m. (8:40 a.m. EDT) near Lockhart, about 30 miles south of Austin.

Holland flies hot air balloons.

Miller says she can’t imagine the pain her friend’s family is going through. The NTSB investigated 760 such accidents between 1964 and 2013. She provides directions to the area to help responding firefighters. There are simply no words to express our profound sadness at this event that has taken away so many of our loved ones.

Investigators work the scene of Saturday’s hot air balloon crash near Maxwell, Texas, Sunday, July 31, 2016.

The balloon accident marks one of the worst in the world.

The number does not take into account the fatalities from Saturday’s crash.