(DailyAnswer.org) – Officials have amended a report that claimed a hot air balloon’s pilot had ketamine in his system when it crashed, killing four people on January 14, 2024, in Arizona. Cornelius van der Walt, 37, was reported to have been under the influence when the crash occurred, but the report initially concluding that rescue crews did not use the drug when attempting to revive him has since been amended, having confirmed medics, in fact, did administer ketamine to van der Walt while taking him to the hospital.
Four died, and another was critically injured in the crash. Micah Powell, mayor of the nearby town of Eloy, Pinal County, announced that 13 people – including eight skydivers, four passengers, and a pilot – were in the balloon’s basket. According to an official from the National Transportation Safety Board, there was an unspecified issue with the balloon’s envelope. Skydivers had already jumped when the incident occurred, and witnesses said that the balloon had moved up and down before the hard impact. One was pronounced dead at the crash site, and the other three died after being taken to the hospital.
The passengers killed were named as Van der Walt, who was from South Africa; Atahan Kiliccote, 24, of California; Kaitlynn Bartom, 28, of Indiana; and Chayton Wiescholek, 28, of Michigan. Valerie Sutterheim, 23, of Arizona, was left in critical condition. Wiescholek texted his long-term girlfriend, Kinsey Taylor, who was also among the skydivers who had already jumped when the balloon started experiencing difficulties. His message said, “This ain’t gonna be good, I love you, goodbye.”
In February 2024, three people died in a separate hot air balloon crash in Georgia when wind blew the balloon into power lines. In the deadliest balloon crash in U.S. history, all 16 people onboard a hot air balloon were killed when it crashed in Texas in 2016 after hitting power lines and catching fire. In response to the Texas crash, the National Transportation Safety Board told the Federal Aviation Administration that it was concerned about the “lack of oversight,” noting that commercial balloon operators were not being held to the same standards as commercial operators of helicopters and airplanes. The balloon piloted by van der Walt crashed in the remote Arizona desert. The amendment to the report corrects the initial conclusion that ketamine in the pilot’s system had affected his driving. The NTSB could take over a year to complete its final report on the crash.
Copyright 2024, DailyAnswer.org
