Bay Area man among victims killed in Arizona hot air balloon crash
Crash site of a deadly hot air balloon crash in Eloy, Arizona on Jan. 14, 2024 (Photos courtesy of Fox 10 Phoenix)
ELOY, Ariz. - A Bay Area man has been identified as one of the victims killed in a hot air balloon crash in Arizona.
Authorities said the crash happened at around 7:50 a.m. Sunday in Eloy, a rural desert area about 60 miles from Phoenix.
The balloon was operated by Droplyne Hot Air Ballon Rides, and was carrying 13 people at the time it went up, including eight skydivers, four passengers, and the pilot, according to the Elroy Police Department.
"Skydivers were able to exit the balloon without incident and complete their skydiving incident and that's when something catastrophic happened and the balloon crashed to the ground," police said.
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One of the victims died at the scene, three died at a local hospital, and a fifth victim was critically injured, according to police.
On Monday, the police department identified the victims who died as 24-year-old Atahan Kiliccote, 24, of Cupertino, Calif.; Kaitlynn Bartrom, 28, of Andrews, Ind.; Chayton Wiescholek, 28, of Union City, Mich.; and 37-year-old Cornelius Van Der Walt, originally from South Africa but lives in Eloy.
Police said Van Der Walt was the pilot of the hot air balloon.
Authorities said the fifth victim, 23-year-old Valerie Stutterheim of Scottsdale, is in critical condition.
The cause of the crash has not yet been determined.
"At this time, the Eloy Police Department is actively collaborating with the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) and the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) in the investigation of this incident," the police department said.