Eloy Police Cite 8 Survivors in "Envelope Failure"

A hot air balloon (file photo, below) crash landed into the desert in Eloy, Arizona, causing fatal injuries to 4 passengers and leaving 8 survivors.

The 13 people aboard had taken the Kubicek BB 85 Z hot air balloon up in the hopes of using it for skydiving operations. The 8 survivors jumped before the aircraft had an "unspecified problem with its envelope", which caused the balloon to fall to Earth in a fatal impact. Not much info is available at this time, though reports to local news sounded as if the aircraft was vascillating before it fell out of the sky.

"Investigators have not found any mechanical anomalies with the balloon during their examination," said a preliminary NTSB statement. "They have also separated the balloon from the basket, and everything appears to be intact. Later today, they will be examining the envelope for any anomalies. An electronic device that could have relevant flight information and a video camera have been sent to NTSB headquarters in Washington, D.C., for further analysis."

While the skydiver passengers got away safely, the 4 that remained in the balloon were not so lucky. Ultimately, 4 suffered fatal injuries in the crash, with a 5th seriously injured and airlifted to the hospital where they remain in recovery today.

FMI: www.pinal.gov