The Tragedy Of Life Lost

In our experience and observation incidents occur when you least expect it. Everything’s fine, your expectations are high and the anticipation for something going wrong is pretty low. In fact, there’s no reason why anything should go wrong. But it does. The tragedy of 11 lives lost on 7th January in New Zealand as a result of a ballooning incident is regretfully the result of failing to recognise the learning’s from previous incidents. A near miss here or there might not seem like an incident waiting to happen yet the alarm bells should be ringing, and ringing loudly.

Safety guidelines for low-flying hot air balloons in Australia are deficient and most powerline strikes occur when flying conditions are good and pilots are relaxed, it has emerged. Investigators are continuing their probe into Saturday's New Zealand hot air balloon tragedy in which the craft hit overhead wires and crashed into a field, killing 11 people.

Learn More: http://www.smh.com.au/national/safety-concerns-for-lowflying-balloons-20120108-1pq86.html