Two days after the hot air balloon crash that killed 16 people near Lockhart, Texas this weekend, investigators from the National Transportation Safety Board on Monday revealed new clues about what happened before and after the crash, but they were not ready to speculate on what caused it.
The evidence they've found so far suggests that pilot Alfred "Skip" Nichols might have been trying to land when his balloon crashed Saturday morning, killing all passengers on board.
In the wreckage, investigators found that the balloon's top vent was open, which is consistent with attempts to perform a landing maneuver, NTSB spokesman Robert Sumwalt said.
Members of the balloon's ground crew told investigators they received a position update from Nichols at 7:26 a.m. -- something he would normally send as he prepared to land.
Sixteen minutes later, at 7:42 a.m., the balloon struck a transmission tower's power lines, causing them to trip. Two minutes after that, emergency responders received a 911 call from Caldwell County resident Margaret Wylie, who said she thought a vehicle was on fire.
"The whole things is in flames now," she said, interrupting herself as she gave the dispatcher directions.
Sumwalt said the power wires showed signs of arcing -- a discharge of electric power that can include visible light -- and abrasions along a 30-foot span, which suggest the balloon hit the lines multiple times.
"Do we have any indication of what caused the balloon to fly into power lines? At this point, we do not," he said.
Sumwalt said investigators have not found that anything was wrong with the balloon at the time it took off. Ground crew members told investigators they sent up two test balloons -- one at the San Marcos Wal-Mart where Nichols met with his passengers and one at Fentress Airpark, where the ride started -- to check the wind before taking off.
Given Saturday morning's atmospheric conditions, investigators believe the balloon should have been able to hold more than the weight of 16 people, although they're still working to determine exactly how much weight was on board.
Sumwalt said the balloon had a current annual inspection from September 2015. Investigators were unable to find its most recent maintenance logs and said it's possible they might have burned up onboard.
What's left of the aircraft has been taken to an air salvage yard in Dallas, Sumwalt said. Electronic devices recovered from the flight are being shipped to Washington, where the NTSB investigation will continue, he said.
On Monday, a message appeared on the website of Nichols' company, Heart of Texas Hot Air Balloon Rides, announcing it was suspending operations. The note, signed by employee Sarah Nichols, did not mention any plans to resume work.
The note mourned the loss of Skip Nichols and the 15 passengers, "all of whom saw what was planned to be a special day turn into an unspeakable tragedy."
In the note, Sarah Nichols said investigators have not given Heart of Texas any information about the crash, so the company is not speaking with passengers' families.
Lengthy criminal record
Details also emerged Monday about Skip Nichols' lengthy criminal record, which included at least four drunken driving charges and two stints in prison in Missouri.
Nichols was most recently released from prison in 2012 after serving nearly two years on charges related to a 2007 drunken driving arrest and a parole violation related to a 1999 drug distribution charge, according to Missouri prison officials.
He had served about 18 months on the drug charge, getting out in 2004.
According to Missouri court records, Nichols' probation and parole terms on both charges ended in August 2013.
Once licensed, balloon pilots are required to notify the Federal Aviation Administration of any alcohol- or drug-related convictions, and depending on the circumstances, their licenses can be revoked or suspended.
FAA records show that Nichols' license, which he received in 1996, had never been suspended or revoked, agency spokesman Lynn Lunsford said. It is not clear whether Nichols notified the agency of his drug- and alcohol-related offenses.
"Our interest in the drug and alcohol (offenses) has to do with the ability to operate an aircraft," Lunsford said.
The FAA does not require balloon operators to disclose DWI convictions when they initially apply for a license, as it does with airplane and helicopter pilots.
Nichols pleaded guilty to drunken driving in connection with 1997 and 1999 arrests in Missouri. The Associated Press reported that he also had a 1990 DWI conviction.
A former girlfriend of Nichols' described him as a recovering alcoholic. She said Nichols had been sober for at least four years and never piloted a balloon after drinking.
Previous crashes, complaints
Nichols and his company settled a personal-injury lawsuit in 2013 filed by a passenger who said she was injured in a crash landing near St. Louis. Terms of the settlement were not disclosed.
The woman contended that Nichols said he had run out of propane and that the balloon began to fall. Nichols said that the balloon began to drop because of a lack of wind. Because it was drifting toward power lines, he said, he made what he called a controlled landing amid trees.
Nichols, who had been stripped of his driver's license at least twice, "couldn't drive a car, but he could pilot a hot air balloon," said attorney S. Lee Patton, who represented the woman in the 2013 case.
Nichols' ballooning operations in Missouri also came under scrutiny by the Better Business Bureau, which in 2008 issued a warning to consumers about booking flights with his company, Air Balloon Sports.
The complaints Nichols received did not relate to his safety record. Instead, most revolved around cancellations due to adverse weather and subsequent disputes over refunds. In July 2008, the Better Business Bureau reported that it had received eight complaints about the company in the previous two years.
"The firm has an unsatisfactory record with the BBB because it failed to respond to complaints and the underlying pattern of problems has continued," the bureau wrote. "The firm also failed to respond to the BBB concerning how it plans to address this pattern of complaints."
The Better Business Bureau also took aim at Nichols' criminal record: "Nichols is currently on probation with the Missouri Department of Corrections for distribution, delivery or manufacturing of a controlled substance. He also has been arrested several times, and sentenced to jail at least twice, for alcohol-related driving infractions."
After leaving prison in Missouri, Nichols moved to Central Texas, where he began operating Heart of Texas Balloon Rides. That company also received poor marks from the Better Business Bureau -- a D-plus rating after six complaints in three years. Again most complaints stemmed from refund disputes after weather-related cancellations. In response to one disgruntled customer, upset after several cancellations, the company responded, "Safety is always our top priority, and will never be compromised."
FAA records show that another hot air balloon belonging to Heart of Texas Balloon Rides had been involved in a crash landing two years ago that sent two women to the hospital.
According to the FAA report, a Heart of Texas balloon made a hard landing in the soccer field of an unidentified Kyle church on Aug. 3, 2014, because the retrieval team parked a vehicle in the balloon's landing area.
"This caused the pilot of the balloon to land short and abruptly in order to avoid contacting the back end of the balloon trailer with the gondola," the report says. The report did not name the pilot of the balloon.
Sumwalt said the balloon in the 2014 crash wasn't piloted by Nichols and was not the one that crashed Saturday.
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