Balloon crash
A hot air balloon carrying at least 16 people caught on fire and crashed in Central Texas on Saturday, causing what authorities described as a "significant loss of life."

The crash happened at about 7:40 a.m. in a pasture near Lockhart, and Lynn Lunsford with the Federal Aviation Administration said earlier that the balloon was carrying at least 16 people.

Sixteen deaths would rank the accident as one of the worst hot-air balloon crashes in history, surpassed only by a crash in Luxor, Egypt, in February 2013 that killed 19 people.

The crash in Texas Saturday appeared to be far and away the worst hot-air ballooning accident in the United States. That record had been six people who died in August 1993 in Woody Creek, Colorado, when a wind gust blew a balloon into a power line complex and severed the basket from the balloon.

Erik Grosof with the National Transportation Safety Board would not provide the exact number of fatalities.




Grosof said the investigation will begin "full bore" Monday after specialists from an agency "Go Team" based in Washington arrive in Central Texas. The FBI's office in San Antonio will assist in collecting evidence in the investigation.

"It's much like a crime scene," Grosof said. "You only get one chance at it so you have got to do it right."

Grosof said it appears the balloon in the crash was operated by Heart Of Texas Hot Air Balloon rides, which is based in New Braunfels, according to the Better Business Bureau.

Margaret Wylie, who lives near the scene, said she heard a pop outside the house and went out to the porch when she heard another pop. She said the then heard a "whooshing noise and saw a fireball go up as high as the lowest power line.

"The next thing I knew," she said, "I saw a big fireball went up and you're just praying that whoever is in there got out on time."

Wylie, who says she see hot air balloons there in the area often, called 911.
This lady was nearby and explains what she saw when the hot air balloon crashed. https://t.co/kkqz9zJLca pic.twitter.com/5MmpMfTSQj

— CBS News (@CBSNews) July 30, 2016
Authorities have not said where the balloon took off, though Caldwell County Sheriff Daniel C. Law told AP it's the kind of situation where people can walk up and buy a ticket, unlike an airplane, which would have a list of names.
The NTSB is giving an update on next steps in the Texas balloon crash investigation https://t.co/AmHxfRsxTI pic.twitter.com/wnizultaZ9

— CBS News (@CBSNews) July 30, 2016
The land near the crash site is mostly farmland, with corn crops and grazing cattle. Cutting through that farmland is a row of massive high-capacity transmission lines about 4 to 5 stories tall. The site of the crash appears to be right below the overhead lines, though authorities haven't provided further details about what happened.

The FAA and NTSB are investigating the crash. Grosof said at a news conference that the NTSB has deemed it a major accident and a full-bore investigation will begin Sunday when more federal officials arrive.

Texas Gov. Greg Abbott asked in a statement that "all of Texas to join us in praying for those lost."
My statement on the tragic and heartbreaking event in Lockhart today https://t.co/MzkKodw9vW pic.twitter.com/28PTBr7tZe

— Gov. Greg Abbott (@GovAbbott) July 30, 2016
Lockhart is about 30 miles south of Austin.

Sources: The Associated Press, The Austin American-Statesman and The New York Times