Lack of medical oversight blamed in Texas hot air balloon crash

Federal investigators said that a government policy allowing commercial air balloon pilots not to get medical certificates likely played a role in last year’s deadly hot air balloon crash in Texas.

The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB), which held a hearing on Tuesday to determine the probable cause of the fatal incident, said that the crash was likely caused by the pilot’s poor decision-making, his medical conditions and medications. But the report also notes that those factors could have been caught if there was any medical oversight of commercial balloon pilots.

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Alfred “Skip” Nichols was operating a hot air balloon near Lockhart, Texas, last summer, when he struck power lines and crashed in a field. Sixteen people, including Nichols, were killed, making it the deadliest hot air balloon crash in U.S. history.

Investigators said Nichols suffered from depression and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, and that the combined effects of “multiple central nervous system-impairing drugs” likely affected his ability to make safe decisions. Nichols, who had Benadryl in his system at the time of the crash, also took sedatives and opioids. 

During the initial launch, his continued flight in fog and above clouds, and his descent near or through clouds, the pilot should have determined that it was unsafe to fly, according to a preliminary report after the crash.

“At each of these points there were indicators that the weather may not be conducive to safe flight,” the report says.

The NTSB also blamed the fact that commercial balloon pilots are not required by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) to hold a medical certificate of any kind. Nichols’s medical conditions “would likely have led an aviation medical examiner (AME) to either defer or deny a medical certificate,” the report said.

A medical examination also would have made the FAA aware of the pilot’s history of drug- and alcohol-related offenses, investigators said. Nichols had at least four convictions for drunken driving, according to The Associated Press.

The NTSB also cited the FAA’s lack of oversight of potentially risky commercial balloon operations.

“The FAA’s primary method of oversight — sampling balloon operators at festivals — does not effectively target the operations that pose the most significant safety risks to members of the public,” the report says.

The NTSB is recommending that the FAA no longer exempt hot air balloon pilots from medical certification requirements and reevaluate its policies for conducting oversight of commercial balloon operations.

Rep. Lloyd Doggett (D-Texas), who represents the district where the crash occurred, has been pushing the agency to end the exemption for air balloon pilots.

“I have long pressed the FAA to strengthen balloon safety to avert another disaster,” Doggett said in a statement. “While I have a pending amendment to long-delayed FAA legislation to require medical certificates for commercial balloon operators, nothing prevents the FAA from acting now.”