Eloy hot air balloon crash: Industry group leader speaks out against stricter regulations
As an investigation into the deadly hot air balloon accident in Arizona continues, we are looking into the hot air balloon industry to see what oversight pilots and operators receive from federal authorities.
The crash happened near Sunshine Boulevard and Hanna Road in Eloy at around 7:50 a.m. on Jan. 14. According to information released by police at the time, there were eight skydivers in the balloon who jumped before the incident. Five people remained in the balloon – a pilot and four who were along for the ride.
"Skydivers were able to exit the balloon without incident and complete their skydiving incident and that's when something catastrophic happened and the balloon crashed to the ground," police said.
On Jan. 15, Eloy Police identified the four people who died, as well as a person who was injured in the incident. So far, an investigation by the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) has revealed no mechanical anomalies.
The cause of the crash is still being investigated, and officials with NTSB say it could take one to two years before a final report is released on the probable cause.
Industry group leader against new regulations
A little over a year ago, officials with the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) mandated a new change for hot air balloon pilots. Now, they must hold a medical certificate, like any other commercial pilot. We have learned that when it comes to who enforces safety, much of it is voluntary.
In the months after a 2016 hot air balloon crash in Lockhart, Texas that led to 16 deaths, FAA officials announced a change, in which the Balloon Federation of America would create a safety program called the 'Envelope of Safety,' which would allow consumers to see an operator's safety score, and make an educated decision.
A little over seven years after the Texas crash, however, only a few dozen operators follow the program (known as pros) out of the thousands of operators nationally.
"People may not be a member of pro, but they may be as safe an operator as someone who is in pro," said Pat Cannon with the Balloon Federation of America.
"There is no regulation requiring it?" we asked Cannon.
"There is no regulation requiring it, no," Cannon replied. "And probably there should not be."
Cannon offered sympathies to those affected by the Eloy crash, and said he hopes this latest crash doesn't lead to any new regulations.
"Now you impose a new regulation that says 'you'll be a member of this program, or else you will not be allowed to do commercial operations,'" said Cannon. "You're going to kill this industry."
On the website for the operator, they say they are up to date on all safety protocols.
"Any type of tragedy like this needs to be investigated fully to find the cause, and then we do the best we can to mitigate that, so it doesn't happen again," said Cannon. "That's our goal."