A commercial balloon pilot’s “pattern of poor decision-making” led to his balloon striking power lines and then crashing to the ground in Texas last July, killing all 16 on board, the NTSB concluded in its final report, issued on Tuesday. It was the deadliest balloon crash in U.S. history. Contributing to the accident were the pilot’s medical conditions and medications that likely affected his decision-making, the board said. Alfred “Skip” Nichols, 49, the owner of Heart of Texas Balloons and the pilot on the day of the accident, had Valium, oxycodone, and the antihistamine Benadryl in his system on the day of the crash, the board said.
Source: avwebNTSB: Poor Pilot Decisions Led To Fatal Balloon Crash