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Balloon Accident
Kills 11, One Of New Zealand’s Deadliest Air Accidents In History By Shane Nolan |
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January 8, 2012 - A Cameron A-210 hot air balloon
operated by Early Morning Balloons carrying 11 people
crashed into power lines and then caught fire killing
all onboard on Saturday in a rural town of Clareville
near the township of Carterton, New Zealand. This was
New Zealand’s deadliest air crash in nearly 50 years.
It
appears that the pilot, Lance Hopping may have been
caught in a downdraft that forced the balloon onto power
lines. The pilot was able to eventually raise the
balloon above the power lines. It is not clear if the
power lines began to arc setting the balloon on fire.
The pilot and passengers took off at 6:40 AM from
Carterton on a 45-minute scenic flight over the
Carterton area. Hopping was one of New Zealand's most
experienced balloon pilots, with more than 10,000 hours
experience. The 10 passengers were all from the greater
Wellington area: two husband and wife couples from
Masterton and Wellington, two couples from Lower Hutt
and Wellington, and two cousins from Masterton and
Paraparaumu.
Witnesses reported the balloon climbed to about 500 feet
then 30 foot flames began rising from the balloon's
basket before it plummeted to the ground. Two of the
passengers onboard jumped from the burning basket
however they did not survive their fall. It was reported
that many of the passengers were badly burned. |
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One
witness said, "I saw it then go straight up in the air and the
flames just engulfed the whole balloon and it crashed to the
ground. When it came down it came down really quickly." Hopping
was a commercial balloon pilot operating out of Carterton. Known
as ‘Hoppy’ he was well liked within the ballooning community and
was the safety officer for the annual Balloons Over Wairarapa
event. Hopping would take up tourists and locals every morning
at dawn, and he was considered an experienced and safety
conscious pilot.
New
Zealand Transport Accident Investigation Commission (TAIC) is
investigating Clareville's ballooning accident. TAIC has opened
an inquiry into fatal ballooning accident. An investigation team
has been assembled and has been out to the crash site. The TAIC
conducts safety focused investigations with the aim of being
able to explain the cause of an accident, so that lessons and
recommendations can be drawn in order to help reduce the
likelihood of a similar event in the future. The balloon operator, Early Morning Balloons, is a family owned and operated business since 1992 and is located in Hastings, New Zealand. The company has an excellent reputation with both customers, the Civil Aviation Authority, and within the Tourism Industry. |
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