16 people killed in Hot Air Balloon crash in Texas

[Ninastar]

http://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-36933150

Horrific :(

[arista]

Yes happens from time to time

You need to know what you are doing etc

[Kizzy]

Horrific, I hate those things.... Who in their right mind thought gas, fire and balloons were a good idea?

[Gusto Brunt]

Yeah, it can be a very dangerous activity.

[joeysteele]

Horrific, I hate those things.... Who in their right mind thought gas, fire and balloons were a good idea?

Me too, no way would I get in one for sure.

[Toy Soldier]

Horrific, I hate those things.... Who in their right mind thought gas, fire and balloons were a good idea?

To be fair... most of us hurtle along at 70+mph inside metal boxes on wheels every day. If you think about it too much, that seems pretty absurd...

Tragic accident though... it's not really something you would normally associate with being dangerous... but I remember a balloon coming down in a field near my house when I was about 9 or 10. No one was hurt, though.

[arista]

Locals said it Hit Power Lines.

that means the Man In Charge
was no good
you would know they were there


http://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2016/07/31/00/36BC4CA500000578-0-image-a-4_1469922653668.jpg

[Ammi]

..this is such a sad tragedy..:sad:.. and possibly a 'one in a lifetime' experience as well for those who lost their lives../so awful for them, their loved ones and also those who witnessed the balloon falling and were totally helpless...

[arista]

Yes Ammi
but the fella in charge would know about Power Lines
he could have fixed sensors.


He failed


all people want is the truth

tragic

[Kizzy]

To be fair... most of us hurtle along at 70+mph inside metal boxes on wheels every day. If you think about it too much, that seems pretty absurd...

Tragic accident though... it's not really something you would normally associate with being dangerous... but I remember a balloon coming down in a field near my house when I was about 9 or 10. No one was hurt, though.

there isn't a lot of comparisons to be drawn between the two, it doesn't seem as absurd as being suspended 1000s of meters in the air in a wicker basket to me strangely :laugh:

[Toy Soldier]

there isn't a lot of comparisons to be drawn between the two, it doesn't seem as absurd as being suspended 1000s of meters in the air in a wicker basket to me strangely :laugh:

There are, going in a car only doesn't seem so strange because it's normalised. How about hurtling through the sky at 35000 feet, doing 600mph in a 200-tonne metal tube? That's also utterly insane on a logical level, and yet we're so used to it that it's just everyday stuff.

[Kizzy]

hot air ballooning is normalised too, yet if you were to compare the accident rate to travelling by plane I think you'd find a clear winner.

Everything has an element of risk attached even walking on the pavement, however my view is hot air ballooning carries more than I am willing to gamble.

[Toy Soldier]

hot air ballooning is normalised too, yet if you were to compare the accident rate to travelling by plane I think you'd find a clear winner.

Everything has an element of risk attached even walking on the pavement, however my view is hot air ballooning carries more than I am willing to gamble.

I guess, just as usual I think people tend to have a poor assessment of risk. If you fly for an hour you have a 0.00023% chance of being in an accident, and that includes all accidents... most incidents are minor and don't involve serious injuries or death (it seems like the only time death is usually involved is when a balloon hits power lines, as happened here).

Obviously (as we can see from this story) things can go wrong and it's tragic when they do... but I guess it's worth remembering that 5 - 10 people in the UK die in a car accident EVERY day and something like 100+ are badly injured. It doesn't stop us driving, though, because driving is such a big part of everyday life. I guess all I'm saying is, it seems a shame to shut oneself off from potentially great experiences for the sake of being totally risk-averse (when really, the risks are so tiny). Then again it's fair enough to just find the prospect unappealing! e.g. I'd never do a bungie jump but not because I think it would be particularly dangerous... I just think it sounds awful...

[Nicky91]

Horrible news, RIP :(