16 dead in Texas hot air balloon crash

[QuickHitCurepon]

That reminds me of the fiery crash of the Hindenburg.

Hindenburg disaster - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

 

[Divine Wind]

Catching on fire? Doesn't sound to me like they died immediately. I think being burned alive is probably one of the most horrible of ways to die.

Unknown if the fire started in the air or not. I suspect if it was burning in the air, a few may have jumped over the side just as happened at the WTC on 9/11. Another possibility is that the basket fell or the balloon failed then the propane bottles may have ignited on impact thus causing the fire at the crash site.

 

[Vandalshandle]

"I have an idea! let's build a fire in a flammable wicker basket and a flammable balloon, and see how high it will take us! What could go wrong?"

 

[Divine Wind]

A dead marriage is worse...

Easier to survive a divorce than a falling balloon basket.

 

[Divine Wind]

"I have an idea! let's build a fire in a flammable wicker basket and a flammable balloon, and see how high it will take us! What could go wrong?"

"I have an idea! Let's put two wheels on 70HP motor and race down a highway doing 90MPH without a helmet! What could go wrong?"

 

[Divine Wind]

years ago when i lived in Minnesota

a guy was flying a Cessna 210 out of west Minneapolis with his family on a vacation

at 7000' the motor prop and all was ripped off the plane losing its center of gravity

the plane spiraled tail first

i imagine the souls on board had plenty of time to think things over before crashing next to a highway

Usually a lot of panic for less than a minute then oblivion. It's not like you'd be lying in agony on the ground with a broken back or burning alive in a car crash.

"Hit something hard. I don't want to limp away from this piece of shit!

 

[Moonglow]

A dead marriage is worse...

Easier to survive a divorce than a falling balloon basket.

For some..

 

[Faun]

How sad. Not a very pleasant way to go.

As a pilot, I know things like this are messy, but except for a few seconds o heart-pounding excitement the sudden stop at the end is painless.

Catching on fire? Doesn't sound to me like they died immediately. I think being burned alive is probably one of the most horrible of ways to die.

They may have hit power lines.

 

[Divine Wind]

For some..

Worse than dying? Get a divorce. Start living your life. How hard is that? Not very for those with a spine.

“A coward dies a thousand times before his death, but the valiant taste of death but once. It seems to me most strange that men should fear, seeing that death, a necessary end, will come when it will come.”
--William Shakespeare, Julius Caesar

 

[Divine Wind]

They may have hit power lines.

A good point, but if so, that's low enough for some to survive and get out.

 

[Faun]

Catching on fire? Doesn't sound to me like they died immediately. I think being burned alive is probably one of the most horrible of ways to die.

Unknown if the fire started in the air or not. I suspect if it was burning in the air, a few may have jumped over the side just as happened at the WTC on 9/11. Another possibility is that the basket fell or the balloon failed then the propane bottles may have ignited on impact thus causing the fire at the crash site.

Don't know if the power lines caused the crash or not, but based on the fire burning on them, the balloon clearly hit them...

 

[Vandalshandle]

Well, this did happen in Texas, so we can not rule out that they were shot down by mistake by overzealous anti-illegal immigrant vigilantees.....

 

[WillMunny]

Natural selection: if people are dumb enough to trust a bag of air to suspend them above the earth, their deaths are an improvement to the human gene pool.

 

[Faun]

They may have hit power lines.

A good point, but if so, that's low enough for some to survive and get out.

Not if they were electrocuted.

 

[Conservative65]

On that note, too many live in fear as proved by the amount of fearful/fear-mongering posts on this forum plus those responding to news articles.

People don't fear being one of the 30,000+ dying on American roads every year**, but do fear becoming a victim of a terrorist attack or "gun violence" when the odds strongly against both for the vast majority of Americans.


**They feel they're safe drivers with nothing to fear and seem to ignore the fact a large portion of those deaths are caused by drunk drivers slamming into other cars.

not only drunk drivers but also inattentive drivers

texting snapchatting and more

i do a lot of driving out here in the Dakotas

not a day that goes by i see at least two cars with two wheels over the center line

with their faces buried in a phone texting

sometimes they dont even have a clue that i just past by them

I'm on the road many days 100 miles or more. I've seen just about anything a person can do to be distracted while driving. Reading the paper, texting, putting on makeup, combing/brushing hair, etc. Since many of those miles are on the interstates, people are doing those things at a high rate of speed. My concern isn't for those doing it. If they want to do something stupid and harm themselves, that's their choice. My concern is with the innocent people they tend to hit.

 

[ChrisL]

They may have hit power lines.

A good point, but if so, that's low enough for some to survive and get out.

Not if they were electrocuted.

That's not good either, but I guess it's better than burning to death.

 

[MikeK]

you never know when you are at the end of the road

live life fully

. . . and don't go for rides in balloons. Do something else.

 

[Divine Wind]

They may have hit power lines.

A good point, but if so, that's low enough for some to survive and get out.

Not if they were electrocuted.

True, but have you ever wondered why birds can sit on a high power line and not be electrocuted?

How about how these pilots survived impact of high power lines without being electrocuted?
Pictured: Pilot's miracle escape after tangle in high-voltage power lines

Boeing Field Aircraft Pilot Rescue by Tukwila Fire Ladder54

 

[Divine Wind]

... My concern isn't for those doing it. If they want to do something stupid and harm themselves, that's their choice. My concern is with the innocent people they tend to hit.

That's the point. The odds of dying in a car accident are much higher than being shot much less killed in a terrorist attack.

Obviously, if one is a drug dealing gang-banger who doesn't drive, their odds of being shot are greatly increased.

Injury Facts Chart

 

[pwjohn]

How sad. Not a very pleasant way to go.

As a pilot, I know things like this are messy, but except for a few seconds o heart-pounding excitement the sudden stop at the end is painless.

years ago when i lived in Minnesota

a guy was flying a Cessna 210 out of west Minneapolis with his family on a vacation

at 7000' the motor prop and all was ripped off the plane losing its center of gravity

the plane spiraled tail first

i imagine the souls on board had plenty of time to think things over before crashing next to a highway

When I think Minnesota, rust & corrosion are the first things that comes to mind.