Victims identified in Arizona hot air balloon crash that killed 4
Four people were killed Sunday morning when a hot air balloon crashed in Arizona, police said.
The balloon came down around 7:50 a.m. local time in the desert area east of Sunshine Boulevard and Hanna Road, officials in Eloy said. Eloy is about 65 miles southeast of Phoenix.
One person was critically injured in the crash. There were five people on board at the time of the deadly crash, according to the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA).
Earlier in the morning, the balloon had taken off with eight skydivers and five others on board, Eloy Police Chief Byron Gwaltney told CBS affiliate KPHO. He said it appeared the skydivers planned to jump to the Eloy Municipal Airport, which is a large skydiving center. The skydivers exited the balloon without incident before the crash.
"And then, shortly thereafter, something catastrophic occurred with the balloon causing it to crash to the ground," Gwaltney said.
The Eloy Police Department on Monday identified the victims as Chayton Wiescholek, 28, from Union City, Michigan; Kaitlynn Bartrom, 28, from Andrews, Indiana; Atahan Kiliccote, 24, from Cupertino, California and Cornelius Van Der Walt, 37. Der Walt, who lived in Eloy and was originally from South Africa, was the pilot. Police identified the critically injured victim as 23-year-old Valerie Stutterheim, 23, from Scottsdale, Arizona.
Police in Eloy said they're looking into the incident alongside the National Transportation Safety Board and the FAA to determine the cause of the deadly crash. Investigators were on scene examining the downed balloon. The NTSB initially identified the aircraft as a Cameron Balloons A160, but on Monday said it was a Kubicek BB 85 Z.
"The preliminary information is that the balloon impacted desert terrain following an unspecified problem with its envelope," an NTSB spokesperson said on Sunday.
The NTSB said Monday that investigators had not found any mechanical anomalies with the balloon. Investigators separated the balloon from the basket, and everything appears to be intact, an agency spokesperson said. The balloon's envelope will be examined Monday for any anomalies. Investigators recovered "an electronic device that could have relevant flight information." They sent the device and a recovered video camera to NTSB headquarters for analysis.
The aircraft will be brought to a secure facility for additional evaluation. An NTSB preliminary report on the crash is expected to be released in two to three weeks.
Police said the balloon was operated by Droplyne Hot Air Balloon Rides.
Earlier this year, two people died and a girl was injured after the hot air balloon they were riding in caught fire near Mexico City. Five people died in 2021 after a hot air balloon crashed into power lines in Albuquerque, New Mexico.