Eloy Police Department has released the names of those killed in a hot-air balloon crash that occurred over the weekend.
At a Monday press conference, Eloy mayor Micah Powell revealed that the balloon was carrying 13 adults, including the pilot, eight skydivers and four passengers, before it crashed in an empty field 65 miles south of Phoenix.
In a police statement, they said that the balloon had crashed after the skydivers successfully exited the balloon.
Mayor Powell stated that the plane crash killed three passengers, including the pilot.
A HOT-AIR BALLOON CRASH IN ARIZONA DESERT
Eloy Police has released the names and locations of those who died in the hot air balloon accident that occurred in Arizona on Sunday. (FOX 10 Phoenix)
Powell stated that the impact of this crash occurred in , “the largest drop zone for skydivers”.
Eloy police chief Byron Gwaltney has identified the pilot as Cornelius Van Der Walt. He is a 37-year-old resident of Eloy, originally from South Africa. The three victims were identified as Chayton Wescholek (28), of Union City, Michigan, Kaitlynn BARTROM (28), of Andrews, Indiana, and Atahan Kiliccote (24), of Cupertino.
Police identified the woman as Valerie Stutterheima (23), from Scottsdale, Arizona.
The statement stated that “At the present time, the Eloy Police Department actively collaborates with the National Transportation Safety Board and the Federal Aviation Administration in investigating this incident.”
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The NTSB continues to investigate the cause of a hot air balloon accident that resulted in the deaths of four people and the critical injury of one. (FOX 10 Phoenix)
The police added that all the skydivers completed the jump successfully before the hot air ballon was a problem.
Powell, during the press conference, said that eyewitnesses had told the police that the material of hot air balloon was “straight down and up” in the final seconds of impact.
Police said: “We send our condolences and thoughts to the families of those who lost their lives and we are thinking about Ms. Stutterheim while she receives medical treatment.”
PILOT KILLED BY SMALL PLANE CRASH IDENTIFIED TO BE LOCAL ARMY VETERAN
FILE- The NTSB investigates a fatal hot-air balloon crash that occurred in Arizona Sunday morning. Four people were killed and one was critically injured. (iStock)
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The accident occurred just before 8 am on Sunday, 14th January.
The NTSB said that investigators arrived on the scene to examine and document the hot air ball, and that it would be transported to a secure location for further investigation.
It was not known what caused the accident until Monday.