Experts: Balloon pilot was on 10 different medications
WASHINGTON — The pilot of a hot air balloon that crashed in Texas in July, killing 16 people, was taking medications that should have precluded him from flying, medical experts testified at a federal hearing on Friday.
Experts also testified that Alfred “Skip” Nichols, who was killed along with 15 passengers, went up in the balloon despite knowing that the weather wasn’t good.
The six-hour hearing is part of the National Transportation Safety Board’s investigation into the July 30 accident in which the balloon hit high-tension power lines before crashing into a pasture near Lockhart, about 60 miles northeast of San Antonio.