NBC: 16 might be dead in hot air balloon fire, crash

Classic nbc chutzpah. They wanted to change order of parade so usa athletes would come in towards end. But they line up alphabetical by language of host country. Estados Unidos

 

Friends of a friend were among those who died. What a terrible accident and senseless loss of life.

I am extremely risk averse so I would never think of getting in one of those, or a helicopter. Then again, I do drive a lot.

 

I've been in a copter. Loved it.

Will never step foot into a balloon basket.

 

Army aviation accidents are pretty rare, even with 15 years of combat to add to the numbers. We have 1.4 Class A accidents (loss of $2M, or the loss or damage of a missile or rocket, or a permanent total disability or a fatality) per 100,000 flight hours. Civilian numbers aren't quite as good, but they're still pretty rare.

 

Oh, I definitely understand that they are probably safer than my daily driving expeditions, but after losing a cousin in a stupid Army helicopter accident many years back I just haven't had an urge to get in one. I'm guessing you're a much better pilot than the jagoffs around here are at driving cars.

 

I went up in one once with my mother. Cool experience, although, as someone else pointed out earlier, it is a bit nerve-wracking to be up a thousand feet in the air with only a wicker basket keeping you up.

The other interesting thing is that, I don't know if it's a general tradition or not, but the pilot of the balloon always brought a bottle of champagne, and gives it to the owner of the property where the balloon lands. A nice little prize for the property owner who suddenly finds a hot-air balloon in their yard.

 

After a float down the Colorado River, I took a helicopter from the bottom of the Grand Canyon to the top. My buddy on the trip -- who's afraid of heights -- was damn near green by the time we go to the canyon rim. I was pretty much fine, but it sure seemed we were damn close to the canyon wall going up.

 

"I don't want to die that way" is a nice guideline to live by.