Pilot in deadly hot air balloon crash had drugs in system [View all]
ALBUQUERQUE — A report from the Federal Aviation Administration shows the pilot of a hot air balloon that crashed in New Mexico in June had marijuana and cocaine in his system.
Pilot Nicholas Meleski died along with his four passengers after the balloon descended in the sky above Albuquerque, hit power lines and crashed into a busy intersection.
The National Transportation Safety Board has yet to rule on the cause of the June 26 crash ... a preliminary report issued in July detailed the moments leading up the crash as seen from surveillance video from surrounding businesses. Witnesses told investigators that the balloon’s envelope separated from the basket after hitting the power lines and floated away. It was found a couple miles south of the crash site.
Federal officials said the balloon crash was the deadliest recorded in New Mexico’s history and the second deadliest in the U.S. since 2016. New Mexico is home to an annual international balloon fiesta that draws hundreds of pilots and tens of thousands of spectators from around the world every October.
https://www.santafenewmexican.com/ap/report-pilot-in-deadly-balloon-crash-had-drugs-in-system/article_9191948c-a253-5c63-b9e2-a4f71d2be6bf.html
Nick Meleski, 62, was killed in a hot air balloon crash in Albuquerque in June. A toxicology report shows he had marijuana and cocaine in his system at the time of the crash that killed five people.
(Courtesy of Benedict Savio)
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