Eleven Die as Hot Air Balloon Hits Power Lines in New Zealand
- Posted on January 7, 2012 at 1:39am by
Scott Baker
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Eleven people have died in what is the worst New Zealand aviation disaster since the Erebus crash in 1979.
Two Auckland based nurses who attended the crash described the distressing scene as family members waiting for their loved ones to land witnessed the accident.
Family members were making frantic calls to relatives saying: “Come now, we need you. Mum and dad have been in a balloon accident. It‘s burst into flames and they’re dead”.
Photo: NZ Herald
Two passengers plummeted to their deaths from a burning hot air balloon as it crashed to the ground near a peaceful New Zealand township on Saturday, killing nine others.
Emergency services were at the scene within three minutes but could not help any of the victims, who were coming to the end of a scenic 45 minute flight and hoping to land in a paddock about 7.25am.
The balloon hit power lines at Clareville, near the Wairarapa township of Carterton and the sparks started a fire in the basket, Wairarapa police Area Commander Inspector Brent Register told reporters on Saturday afternoon.
Two passenger, a man and woman, appeared to have jumped from the basket, he said.
The fire then flared and the balloon dropped sharply to the ground, killing the rest of the occupants.
Stunned witnesses described watching as flames licked the side of the basket before shooting up the guy ropes and setting fire to the canopy.
“I couldn’t believe what I was seeing,” said David McKinley. “It was just above the trees when I first saw it… it looked like [the pilot] tried to raise it a bit higher… all of a sudden there was just 10 metres of flames. It was like a rocket coming down – it was just unbelievable.”
One resident who saw the crash said he had waved at the passengers as the balloon passed overhead: “Then I heard the screams and looked out the window and heard it coming down. I was having my breakfast and I heard them, they sounded like screams of joy but they weren’t.”
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TheSitRep
Posted on January 8, 2012 at 9:37amShocking!
Report Post »dontbotherme
Posted on January 7, 2012 at 7:27pmThis is such a terrible tragedy. I feel so sorry for all of the family members. God, please bless them and give them the strength they’ll need to get through this. Hold them in Your loving arms when they have the nightmares they’ll unfortunately have. Please help them Lord.
Report Post »Reconstructed leftist
Posted on January 7, 2012 at 5:49pmkeep your opinions to yourself.
Report Post »kiwiburgerwithcheese
Posted on January 7, 2012 at 11:28pm?…this is a comment blog…i.e, a place to leave your opinions.
Report Post »Pyronaught
Posted on January 7, 2012 at 4:02pmThe general rule in ballooning regarding power lines is “when in doubt, rip out,” which means if there is any question about clearing power lines then you just deflate the balloon right then and there and accept a hard landing wherever it might happen to be. This is easier said than done however. You might think you can easily clear the lines and then some weather phenomenon goes against you, then by the time you realize you can‘t make it it’s too late. You actually have to come in contact with at least two lines to get zapped though, just skimming one one do anything. It’s the difference in voltage between the two that can arc-cut cables like butter, start fires and shock people. Once you have a fire in the basket you are toast. The fire will overheat the balloon and it will shoot up without control, then the propane will either explode or turn into a flame thrower. The envelope will eventually burn through and then drop the basket like a rock. About the highest fall that can be survived is 30 feet, IF you are lucky and land just right. Even then you’re going to be in the hospital with lots of broken bones. Your best chance of survival once there is a fire is to jump as soon as you can if the balloon is at an altitude of 30 ft or less and hope you survive the fall. Again, a lot easier said than done!
Report Post »Constitutionalist Lineman
Posted on January 7, 2012 at 6:35pmMost of these people were probably burned so bad by the initial arc that they wouldn’t have lived had they jumped. They most likely had no idea what was happening after the flash. The basket probably took 3 shots of fault current before the OCR locked itself out and when your dealing with a Arc that has distribution Voltage (probably atleast 12KV) and it creates a fireball the size of a pickup truck in just a few milliseconds that is hotter than the surface of the sun there nothing you can do its over before you knew it started. Very sad story I feel for the familys
Report Post »VicksVaporub
Posted on January 7, 2012 at 3:03pmWhy is there a story from Al Jazeera on here?
Report Post »Advena
Posted on January 8, 2012 at 3:14pmActually, it’s a story from New Zealand – and it has been carried in many major newspapers around the world. So just take a deep breath and relax.
Report Post »Oldtexan in support of Israel
Posted on January 7, 2012 at 3:00pmIn every thing you do you try to minimize the risk. I know, after rock climbing, scuba diving, hang gliding and bungee jumping all were done while trying to be as safe as I could. But accidents do happen. God give the families strength and put your arms around the ones coming your way.
Report Post »abbygirl1994
Posted on January 7, 2012 at 1:08pmI cannot believe some of the crass remarks from people.. absolutely no humanity, no compassion.. just total ignoramouses.. its all a joke.. what is wrong with you people who joke about the sadness of this.. what if it were you watching your parents or family members burning to death or falling to earth.. really Blaze, I know you believe in freedom of speech.. but with something like this do you think you could cut off the voice of those who joke or make rude crass remarks?? To the families left behind, I grieve with you for your loss.. may God help you through this and may those who died rest in peace.. God help us if we cannot have the compassion or humanity to grieve for the loss of anyone who dies so tragically!
Report Post »Oldtexan in support of Israel
Posted on January 7, 2012 at 2:47pmGod bless you Abby and RIGHT ON
Report Post »Mary Just
Posted on January 7, 2012 at 12:32pmNew Zealanders are Socialist. They should just pass another law outlawing hot air ballons.
Report Post »Wmbuckley
Posted on January 7, 2012 at 12:56pmHow about in the case of a such a tragedy MARYJUST, you leave your political insensibilities at home!
Report Post »VicksVaporub
Posted on January 7, 2012 at 3:01pmHey this is The Blaze and we all love Glenn Beck, political insensibilities are the order of the day.
Report Post »kiwiburgerwithcheese
Posted on January 7, 2012 at 11:38pm@Mary…I’m a New Zealander…the country’s politics has socialist leanings, but to say it is ‘socialist’ is not correct.
Report Post »Krazy_Kreepy_Ketchup
Posted on January 7, 2012 at 10:50amI didnt know obama was in New Zealand. How did he hit the powerline and how did the 11 people die?
Report Post »JoeBtfsplk
Posted on January 7, 2012 at 11:48amMan should be content to remain firmly planted on terra firma. If you have to fly, do so.
Report Post »Hot Air Ballooning? Not necessary. Fun? Probably. In this case? No.
Dustoff
Posted on January 7, 2012 at 12:06pmI have no love for O-dumber, but I find your comment quite foolish.
Report Post »kiwiburgerwithcheese
Posted on January 7, 2012 at 11:32pmThis is my hometown area where I grew up….if you read the story and actually listen to the video interviews you will hear what happened.
Report Post »RRFlyer
Posted on January 7, 2012 at 10:29amI reported this, we’ll see if it is removed
Report Post »TWO BITS
Posted on January 7, 2012 at 10:27amWhat a tragic ending to what should have been a fascinating adventure! We often attend a summer festival that has hot-air balloon races and the colors and shapes are beautiful when they fill the sky. My prayers to the families!
Report Post »missmollywog
Posted on January 7, 2012 at 10:19amGod Bless them all….how horrible.
Report Post »EyebrowsLaMana
Posted on January 7, 2012 at 10:19amAww, that is so sad for these people. What a horrible outcome to what should have been a fun day.
Report Post »SFsuper49er
Posted on January 7, 2012 at 9:55amWhy do people think about the fun of things but not the risk… Very sorry for the loss….
Report Post »RRFlyer
Posted on January 7, 2012 at 10:32amthere is nothing you can do without a risk. Why do people like you insist on saying it‘s someone’s fault when something bad happens to them. I hope you have a great life never leaving your bed in the morning and keeping your head in the sand.
Report Post »You surely don’t ever ride in a car because people get killed in car crashes every day.
000degrees
Posted on January 7, 2012 at 10:47amGotta live life….
Report Post »Dustoff
Posted on January 7, 2012 at 12:03pmLife is a risk.
Report Post »Pyronaught
Posted on January 7, 2012 at 3:45pmDriving to the launch site is statistically more risky than the balloon flight itself. If you‘re going cower in your house your whole life because that’s the least risky path then what kind of life would that be?
Report Post »kiwiburgerwithcheese
Posted on January 7, 2012 at 11:44pmMy brother-in-law rode with this pilot in 2005…he is one of the most experienced pilots in NZ and very safety conscious.
If you want to see more local news about this tragedy go to http://www.stuff.co.nz or http://www.herald.co.nz or http://www.times-age.co.nz ….these are the local newspapers.
Report Post »Jack007
Posted on January 7, 2012 at 8:56amSad
Report Post »On The Bayou
Posted on January 7, 2012 at 8:02amI was taught to fly my kite away from power lines. Someone has got to be responsible enough to know where no to fly an air craft without any steering other than the wind.
Report Post »kiwiburgerwithcheese
Posted on January 7, 2012 at 11:36pm@Bayou,
Report Post »This is my hometown area where I grew up, the guy who was flying the balloon is one of the most experienced pilots in NZ, and he was the safety director for ‘Balloons over Wairarapa’, a huge yearly balloon festival in NZ. From talking to people personally involved in this tragedy it appears that a sudden gust of wind while landing may have been the cause..but this is still under investigation.
Gonzo
Posted on January 7, 2012 at 7:33amThey bought the flight for their parents for Christmas…wow. That’s a lifetime of guilt. I certainly feel bad for the parents but, those kids have to live with it for the rest of their lives.
Report Post »democritusoilder267
Posted on January 7, 2012 at 7:16amInna lillahi wa inna ilaihi raji’un. This is terrible news to hear. God bless them.
Report Post »Detroit paperboy
Posted on January 7, 2012 at 7:05am@marsh626
Report Post »Uhhh, yeah… And i thought this was a story about a tragic balloon accident…… Go take another bong hit ….sheeese
grandmaof5
Posted on January 7, 2012 at 6:17amNZKIWI, don’t know where you are in relationship to this tragedy, but hope none of your friends/relatives were aboard. God, please help those left behind cope with this terrible accident and help speed the deceased to Heaven. Amen.
Report Post »Diane TX
Posted on January 7, 2012 at 2:54amMakes me think of the Hindenburg accident. I swear that I saw it happen, but I wasn’t born yet.
Report Post »Ducky 1
Posted on January 7, 2012 at 2:09pmJohn Boy Walton was there!
Report Post »noland
Posted on January 7, 2012 at 2:23amSorry for thier hearts aching, the”ll never be the same. Just thinkin, Oh Lord give them your strength whom ever these sons and daugthers are.
Report Post »planeboy
Posted on January 7, 2012 at 1:53amSad…but balloons are somewhat uncontrollable,things like that can happen…prays to the family members…
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