July 31, 2016
6:23 pm EDT
Texas hot air balloon hit power lines before crash, NTSB says
Sixteen victims
Friends of three of the victims identified them Sunday. They include the pilot, Alfred "Skip" Nichols, and newlyweds Matt and Sunday Rowan.
The Rowans got married in February, said Brent Jones, the father of Sunday's 5-year-old son, Jett. "Sunday was a very social person," Jones said. "They have hundreds and hundreds of friends."
Sunday, Rowan bought the balloon flight for her husband as a birthday gift last year and it had taken them a while to schedule it, Jones said.
"Sunday was messaging her mom before getting on the balloon. Soon after takeoff, she stopped all communication," he said.
"It's hard, but I want everyone to understand how great our lives were together and how amazing these two people are."
Alan Lirette, the ground crew supervisor for the balloon operator, Heart of Texas Hot Air Balloon Rides, described Nichols as his "best friend, boss and roommate."
Philip Bryant, a balloon pilot, told CNN he knew Nichols.
"I knew him to be a safe, competent pilot," Bryant said. "He has done this for a very long time."
The NTSB said the identities of all of the victims would be made public later by local authorities.
Electronic devices recovered
The FBI has found 14 personal electronic devices from those aboard the balloon, Sumwalt said. They include cell phones, one iPad, and three cameras.
The cameras, he said, are destroyed, but he said he hopes NTSB lab technicians can recover the images.
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