UAE balloon crash probe focuses on weather

Dubai: The investigation into Sunday’s deadly ballooning crash in the UAE has centred on windy weather conditions that forced the pilot to make an emergency landing, local daily the National reported.
“We mainly suspect the weather,” Saif al-Suwaidi, director general of the General Civil Aviation Authority (GCAA), was quoted as saying.
GCAA investigators were on Monday still collecting statements from witnesses and examining the crash site, the newspaper said.
Two people (including an Indian) were killed and several others injured, one seriously, in when a hot-air balloon with 14 people on board crashed near the city of Al Ain.
Peter Kollar, director of Balloon Adventures Emirates, has already said wind forced the balloon down, but maintained he or the pilots check weather forecasts every morning before flying and assess conditions prior to take off.
“The pilot waited for around 30 minutes for the wind to die down and then they had a normal take-off,” Kollar was quoted as saying in the National on Monday.
“There was an extremely strong and unexpected gust of wind about 10 minutes into the flight and the pilot had to make an emergency landing,” he added.
28/04/10 Maktoob News, UAE

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Categories: Foreign Apr 2010, Safety Apr 2010