16 People In Texas Killed In Hot Air Balloon Crash

[stromboli]

http://abcnews.go.com/US/wireStory/hot-air-balloon-carrying-16-people-crashes-texas-41015210

Hey its a start. did I tell you the one about the airplane wreck where they found a bunch of dead midgets in 10 gallon hats? Turned out to be Texans with the shit kicked out of them. 

If this doesn't get me ranked as insensitive I'll keep trying. 

[SGOS]

I read this last night.  Flying or crashing a hot air balloon is something I can't relate to.  I'd like to take a ride in one, but it would have to be a free ride, because the experience seems more unusual than exciting, but bumping up against high tension wires would tend to piss me off.

[stromboli]

Being as it was Texans the balloon might have been over inflated with hot air and burst.

[SGOS]

I find those occasional photos of 20 or 30 hot air balloons all aloft together to be enchanting on one hand, but curious on the other.  "OK, so what exactly are these people doing in this picture?"  It's a lovely picture, but it's like the main reason for flying like this is to produce an art form.  I guess, I'd say I appreciate the art form.  The flying?  Maybe, but mostly, I like the photos.

And yes, there's lots of hot air in Texas.

[stromboli]

Any comment from me at this point would be overkill, so I'll just let er' ride. 

[SGOS]

Any comment from me at this point would be overkill, so I'll just let er' ride. 

Yep.  Probably.  LOL

[Hakurei Reimu]

Hey its a start. did I tell you the one about the airplane wreck where they found a bunch of dead midgets in 10 gallon hats? Turned out to be Texans with the shit kicked out of them. 

If this doesn't get me ranked as insensitive I'll keep trying. 

It would be insensitive if the 10g hats had shit in them.

[Johan]

I'd like to take a ride in one, but it would have to be a free ride, because the experience seems more unusual than exciting, but bumping up against high tension wires would tend to piss me off.

I used to think it would be fun to take a balloon ride. Then I learned to fly airplanes (and did all the study which goes with that), then I met and talked to a few licensed balloon pilots. No way would I ever trust my life to someone who only had the level of knowledge required to get a balloon operators certificate.

Kind of like asking the hospital janitor to surgically remove a growth on your skin. They could probably get it done just fine, but its not exactly the person you want doing the job.

[Shiranu]

I quite liked hot air balloon rides over the New Mexico desert and mountains... just lazily drifting above the beautiful desert scenery.

Also, just realised this happened less than 20 minutes from where I live. Small world.

[PickelledEggs]

I thought they developed more reliable methods of travel already...

[mauricio]

I thought they developed more reliable methods of travel already...

lol this is exactly what I was thinking, not really keen on the idea of using primitive unreliable vehicles on high altitudes. But maybe they are actually pretty safe if we look at the number of incidents per flight time compared to cars or planes.

[Shiranu]

Balloons are extremely safe, it's more likely user error than anything else.

And it's not all about efficiency, there is something very romantic about balloons.

[Johan]

Statistically safe, but extremely unforgiving of error.

And don't get me wrong, I will do lots of things which match that criteria. But I've gotten to the point that when I choose to participate in those sorts of activities, I prefer the person I'm trusting my life to understand quite a bit about the why of everything they're doing as opposed to only knowing the how. The balloon pilots I've met? Lots of knowledge of the how i.e. connect this, push that, pull this other thing, but no so hot on why they needed to do what they were doing nor what exactly would happen if they did it wrong. No thanks, I'll pass.

[Hydra009]

I love flying.  It's the falling I can't stand.