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New findings on Eloy hot air balloon crash
Officials with the National Transportation Safety Board have released new details on what caused a hot air balloon to plummet to the ground in the Eloy area in 2024. FOX 10's Nicole Krasean reports.
PHOENIX - Officials with the National Transportation Safety Board have released new details about what caused a hot air balloon to plummet to the ground in Eloy in 2024.
The backstory:
According to our previous report, the crash happened on Jan. 14, 2024 near Sunshine Boulevard and Hanna Road.
At the time, police in the area said there were eight skydivers in the balloon who jumped before the incident. Five people remained in the balloon – a pilot and four who were along for the ride.
In all, four people died in the crash, and they were identified as:
- Kaitlynn Bartrom, 28, of Andrews, Indiana
- Atahan Kiliccote, 24, of Cupertino, California
- Pilot Cornelius Van Der Walt, 37, originally from Walvis Bay, Namibia, but resides in Eloy
- Chayton Wiescholek, 28, of Union City, Michigan
What We Know Now:
The final investigation report took evidence from a camera mounted on the hot air balloon.
A timeline of that video shows a group of skydivers jumped out safely around seven minutes into the flight. Shortly after, van der Walt was seen pulling the wrong rope, letting too much air out of the balloon.
"The maneuvering vent has a red and white, some people call it a candy stripe line. So it's a red and a white line, and that you can use at any time during the flight," said Andy Baird, who helped with the investigation. "The rapid deflation mode, smart vent mode some people called it, has a solid red line, and that's for landing only."
Within the next minute, the balloon had deflated significantly. The NTSB noted video of a past flight operated by van der Walt shows him pulling the red line multiple times at a height of 11,000 feet. Baird noted the significance of this pattern.
"Certainly, it was not in accordance with the operating limitations. It was not in accordance with the normal operating procedures," Baird said. "But there appears to be indications that he had done this numerous times on other flights."
Victim's Family Speaks Out:
The parents of Chayton Wiescholek said the findings don't matter to them.
"I think of him probably 15, 20 times a day, and choke up over him not being with me," said Chayton's father, Gary Wiescholek.
Gary and Rhonda Wiescholek say the loss of Chayton not only broke their hearts, but changed the trajectory of their lives.
"I'm a small-time farmer," said Gary. "Chayton was -- we were getting ready to turn the farming operation over to him."
The Wiescholeks say while they have frustration and anger connected to the crash, they're choosing to focus on their beloved son, who they plan to honor next weekend with a trip to his favorite place in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan.
"There's a group of us that's going up to Drummond Island to do a memorial and leave ashes up there for him," Gary said.
While the Wiescholeks are still very much in mourning, they are also celebrating, as Chayton's brother and his wife are expecting what will be the first grandchild in the family. They say Chayton will be an uncle in heaven.