The National Transportation Safety Board has released a report detailing the cause of the tragic hot air balloon crash in Eloy last year that resulted in four fatalities. According to a statement from the agency, pilot error was cited as the primary factor behind the accident which saw the balloon plummet to the ground, killing pilot Cornelius van der Walt and three passengers, as detailed by FOX 10 Phoenix.
The flight, which took place on January 14, 2024, initially carried the pilot, eight skydivers, and four passengers. The National Transportation Safety Board discovered that after the skydivers safely exited at a high altitude, van der Walt "pulled the red rapid deflation valve line 12 times," a maneuver intended mostly for emergency landings. This action caused the balloon to quickly lose air and deform as it started to drop. The report, obtained by FOX 10 Phoenix, specifies van der Walt waited 46 seconds before attempting to re-inflate the balloon, a delay which proved fatal.
Investigators concluded that if the pilot had utilized the "parachute valve" instead to more gradually control the descent, the outcome might have been different, as per AZ Family. The National Transportation Safety Board further clarified that there was nothing mechanically wrong with the balloon itself, suggesting that the pilot's decision-making process was ultimately to blame for the incident.
The final report by the National Transportation Safety Board also referenced past footage where van der Walt was shown to routinely use the rapid deflation system at dangerously high altitudes, indicating that it had become a "common practice" for him, as reported by AZ Family. In a heart-wrenching response to the findings, the family of one of the victims expressed their grief with Chayton Wiescholek's father, Gary, telling FOX 10 Phoenix about the frequency at which he thinks of his late son and their upcoming plans to honor his memory.
