Lockhart Post Register: Balloon legislation gains steam

A bill containing legislation designed to prevent medically unfit pilots from causing balloon crashes such as the tragedy that struck outside Lockhart more than two years ago is expected to receive full Congressional approval and be signed into law by President Donald Trump as early as next week according to officials involved with authoring the bill.

The balloon crash that killed 16 people outside Lockhart in July 2016 is among the deadliest in U.S. history and the deadliest aviation disaster since 2009.

The Federal Aviation Administration Reauthorization Act of 2018 (H.B. 302) contains an amendment requiring medical certifications for hot air balloon pilots.

The National Transportation Safety Board found that the FAA's lack of a rule requiring balloon operators to obtain medical certificates contributed to the Caldwell County crash.

The hot air balloon amendment was championed by U.S. Congressman Lloyd Doggett (D-TX) and, prior to that, gained traction through the efforts of other local officials including State Rep. John Cyrier (R-Lockhart) and former Caldwell County Office of Emergency Management Chief Martin Ritchey, who now serves as head of homeland security for the Capital Area Council of Governments.

Representatives in Doggett's office said before press time Tuesday they believed the House would pass the bill this week and the Senate would pass it next week.

"It no longer has opposition," said Kate Stotesbery, Doggett's communications director.

"My balloon safety amendment has been included in the Federal Aviation Administration Reauthorization bill that is now moving to the president's desk to be signed into law. Shortly after the horrifying crash near Maxwell in August 2016, I urged the FAA to act on its own," Doggett said. "While re-urging this action after the NTSB findings, the FAA remained unresponsive. A year ago, I authored and obtained bipartisan support for a safety bill.

"Now finally that proposal has been included in this ‘mustpass' legislation to require a medical certificate for hot air balloon pilots. Had the pilot in this crash been required to obtain a medical certificate, the NTSB believes he would not have been flying that morning.

"This is a victory for the victims' families, who petitioned for this action, and for the many in Caldwell County who prayed and mourned for the loss resulting from this unnecessary tragedy. Hopefully, it means that no more families will be exposed to the horror of a crash from an impaired pilot."

Ritchey also offered a comment early Tuesday.

"We hope that the House and Senate act quickly and that President Trump signs this legislation into law to protect other families from experiencing the losses family's suffered that day in Caldwell County," he said.

The path to the amendment's passage was a long one that began with the NTSB's Robert Sumwalt, who was on scene following the balloon accident and Cyrier's office, which remained in close contact with the NTSB following the crash to push for a public investigative hearing on the accident.

In a public investigative hearing, the NTSB studies and identifies the errors and circumstances that contributed to an accident and can lead to discussions of policies and guidelines to help prevent them from being repeated.

"Had the pilot in this crash been required to obtain a medical certificate, the NTSB believes he would not have been flying that morning,"
- U.S. Rep. Lloyd Doggett, D-Texas