North Coast hot air balloons: high flying or highly dangerous?

Aug. 03--Thousands soar above the North Coast each year in hot air balloons, grabbing a bird's-eye view of the scenic countryside dotted with redwoods, rolling hills and vineyards.

For the most part, it's a serene undertaking filled with brilliant sunrises and champagne toasts. Views of colorful balloons floating on the horizon have become part of the Wine Country experience.

But 16 people died Saturday in a balloon crash south of Austin, Texas -- the worst such accident in U.S. history -- and the National Transportation Safety Board has renewed its effort to subject air tour balloon operators to greater regulatory oversight.

NTSB records show 20 balloon incidents in Lake, Marin, Napa and Sonoma counties dating to the 1960s, killing one person and injuring several dozen.

Balloon pilots say it's a solid track record considering the number of people killed each year across the country in car crashes and small plane accidents.

Because balloon mishaps are so rare, people tend to pay attention to them, said Mike Kijak of Windsor who retired last year after flying balloons for 26 years.

"Ballooning is statistically safer than walking down the street," said Kijak, who estimated he's flown more than 10,000 passengers without incident. "It's really one of the most relaxing things you can do in your life."

Yet in the aftermath of the Texas crash, when the gondola touched down on high-tension power lines, burst into flames and crashed into a pasture, some are calling for greater oversight of an industry estimated to generate more than $1 million a year in business in Sonoma County alone.

That incident confirmed a prediction from NTSB officials two years earlier of a high risk of multiple fatalities if the Federal Aviation Administration did not adopt tighter regulations on hot air balloon operators. The FAA turned down that request; it was unknown if the agency would reconsider its position in the wake of the Texas tragedy.

Balloon watchdog Marcie Cook of San Antonio, Texas, said the government should institute annual testing of pilots and equipment and adopt uniform standards for carrying insurance.

"It's not a safe industry," said Cook, who was badly injured in a 2002 Texas crash into power lines that left her blind in one eye.

Nationwide, 400,000 to 500,000 people ride in hot air balloons each year, said Jeff Chatterton, spokesman for the 2,100-member Balloon Federation of America. There are as many as 200 large balloon tour operators in the country, ranging in size from small outfits to large, multiballoon companies handling up to 25,000 passengers a year, Chatterton said.

He said ballooning is safe but there is always room for improvement.

"An accident like this is virtually unprecedented, especially in the United States," Chatterton said.

The NTSB investigated 800 balloon accidents across the country from 1964 to 2016 with a total of 71 fatalities. Many are the result of windy weather or hitting things such as power lines.

In California, there were 71 accidents over the 52-year period with nine deaths, including a 2003 fatality in Yountville. In that accident, a passenger on a canceled flight held onto the outside of a gondola as the balloon was being moved. He was lifted into the air and fell from a height of about 100 feet.

Other accidents on the North Coast involve hard landings in shifting winds that led to serious injuries, including broken bones. Balloon gondolas grazed the tops of power poles or trees and made unexpected put-downs in fields, along highways and in people's backyards.

In February, a balloon carrying four people crashed through a fence in Petaluma, injuring a 6-year-old boy passenger. News reports said the boy was knocked unconscious and suffered a broken clavicle.

Last summer, three people were seriously injured when a balloon carrying 19 passengers made a hard landing near Hidden Valley Lake to avoid power lines and trees. The gondola smacked the ground, bounced 20 feet in the air, then hit again, causing passengers to fall into each other and get hurt, the NTSB report said.

But Scott van der Horst, the Sebastopol-based pilot of that flight, said the balloon was never in danger of hitting power lines and the rough landing was not unusual for windy conditions.

"When you're getting pushed in a tight area you have to be aggressive," said van der Horst, chief pilot for Wine Country Balloons, one of a handful of companies operating on the North Coast. "You have to land quite firmly at times. It's a physical environment."

Like other local pilots, van der Horst said he's had few incidents in 32 years as a commercial pilot flying about 30,000 passengers. He inspects balloons daily and requires all on board to watch for hazards.

In general, he said, a pilot has great control over up and down movement but is somewhat at the mercy of the wind in going side to side. It's not unusual to land in a farmer's field or a neighbor's yard.

But he said mostly it's a "very mellow affair." Wind and weather patterns along the North Coast make it ideal for ballooning, he said.

Following the Texas crash, van der Horst said business remained steady. He flew in Lake County Tuesday because of early morning fog near the coast.

"So many things in life are predictable," van der Horst said. "Human beings need an element of adventure where they don't know exactly what the outcome will be. That's part of the attraction."

You can reach Staff Writer Paul Payne at 707-568-5312 or [email protected]. On Twitter @ppayne.

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