Horrible. What I heard on the news was that one of the cables got tangled and whether because of trying to straighten out or because they got tangled cause the gas line to explode.
Sad stuff. I wonder how many tagic accidents like this one happen per 100 or 1000 balloon rides. It was just one incident, man. I'm sure you heard about the plane crashes on 9/11 but you still fly in an airplane... you know? I know I would still go in a hot air balloon after. You just have to be cautious or have the expert balloon peeps take precautions.
I don't know, something about hot air balloons that's more "real" than flying in an airplane. You're seated in a comfy chair, with tv's, magazines, a/c, etc. Don't really feel like flying. For someone who has a fear of heights like me, riding in an airplane is much easier than a hot air balloon. With that said, is it possible to ride with a parachute on as an extra safety precaution?
everyone sees car crashes everyday. doesn't deter them from driving. i'm sure hot air balloon rides are safer than bungee jumping and skydiving. i still want to do all three. and how did 18 people die from that? i thought you couldn't fit more than 5 in those things.
I thought the same thing. But I guess there are bigger baskets that fit 10+. This one can take 13 people if I counted correctly. 18 does sound a little too packed.
He had no chance to fight that fire. None. While he may have some responsibility for the accident (it's possible that it wasn't his fault, but rather an equipment malfunction. hopefully, they'll figure that out), once that fire started, it was all over. That he and the one passenger survived was due to quick thinking and that they were 30 feet off the ground at the time.
what was sad...was that apparently one of the balloons were close to landing and then shot up when the flames went out of control...quite sad...
It makes sense from a percentage standpoint, but flying and driving aren't leisure activities for me. It's not even about the risk. It's about spending $400+ on floating romantic adventure (which I had planned to do) and now possibly being scared the whole time and not being able to enjoy it. And hell, even though it's relatively safe, I still get nervous at times on flights.
Why are people ripping on the guy video taping? It's a good thing that people can video tape stuff like this. They might not have needed it on this accident, but what if a plane exploded mid air for example. A video might shed light on what actually happened in those final seconds and would help resolve the issue and save lifes in the future. I assume you would hate the videos of 9/11 as well.
This is sad, but the basket was clearly packed... this is why I won't do these sorts of things in countries with lousy safety standards and regulations.
