Tragic Hot Air Balloon Crash in Arizona Desert

The Devastating Incident

The aircraft was carrying 13 adults - a balloon operator, four passengers and eight skydivers, according to Eloy Mayor Micah Powell. Shortly after all the skydivers completed their planned jump from the aircraft, 'something catastrophic occurred with the balloon, causing it to crash to the ground,' said Eloy Police Chief Byron Gwaltney at a news conference. Though the exact cause of the crash is unknown, preliminary information suggests it occurred after the balloon had an 'unspecified problem with its envelope,' said the National Transportation Safety Board, which is investigating the incident. A witness on the ground told authorities in the seconds leading up to the crash 'the material of the hot air balloon was just straight up and down, and the impact was fairly, fairly large,' the mayor said.

Victims and Survivors

One person died on the scene and three others died after being taken to a hospital, according to the mayor. The person who was critically injured was transported to a trauma center in Phoenix, he said. On Monday, police identified the four victims as Chayton Wiescholek, 28, from Union City, Michigan; Kaitlynn Bartrom, 28, from Andrews, Indiana; Atahan Kiliccote, 24, from Cupertino, California; and Cornelius van der Walt, 37, originally from South Africa and residing in Eloy. Valerie Stutterheim, 23, from Scottsdale, Arizona, was critically injured in the incident, police said. Bartrom's mother, Jennifer Hubartt, described her daughter as a registered nurse from Indiana who loved skydiving and adventure. Hubartt said her daughter had traveled from Indiana to Arizona with friends and that she was 'really enjoying the experience and having fun and seeing a new place that she had never seen before.'

Investigation and Response

The close-knit city has a 'very large skydive community presence' and boasts a large 'drop zone,' or area where skydivers can land, according to the mayor. NTSB investigators were at the scene Sunday night documenting the crash site and examining the aircraft, which will be brought to a secure facility for further analysis in the coming days, an agency spokesperson told CNN. The aircraft was an A-160 passenger balloon manufactured by Cameron Balloons, according to the NTSB. The model can carry a pilot and up to seven riders, the manufacturers website says. The Eloy Police Department said it is working with the NTSB and the Federal Aviation Administration on the investigation.