[TalBlack]

Who flys these things anywhere near power lines? RIP.

[RightWingNutJob69]

I’m interested if there will be a toxicology report for the pilot.

[TexasGator]

“Who flys these things anywhere near power lines? RIP.”

They were flying at 500 feet. No power lines there.

[JaguarXKE]

Who flys these things anywhere near power lines?

If you watch the video/ news report it appears there was some malfunction at altitude, then hit power lines on the way down.

[HotHunt]

One does not "fly" a hot air balloon. It is very difficult to get it to go where you want it to go. You can't really steer them. It has a mind of its own. It can go up and down by your efforts but horizontally it is at the whim of the air currents and the wind. That's why people fly them early in the morning when the wind hasn't picked up yet. You need calm weather for hot air balloons.

I lived in Albuquerque for a while stationed in the Air Force. Then my wife got stationed there. So we went to the annual hot air balloon festival for 4 or 5 years.

There were accidents every once in a while and at least 2 fatalities I remember during that time. One crashed into the Sandias mountains immediately behind Albuquerque.

None of those accidents involved power lines.

I have taken one ride in a balloon and was on the chase crew for several other flights. I prefer the chase vehicles instead of being in the air. But that's just me. I know several people who used to fly their own balloons for years and never had any problems.

As an industry in the US, hot air ballooning is considered very safe. Fatalities are rare. But of the deaths recorded between 2000 and 2016 (21 total), these four deaths in the Albuquerque are a fifth of those total deaths.