The pilot of a hot air balloon that crashed in Texas, killing all 16 people aboard, was convicted of drunken driving at least four times in Missouri and twice spent time in prison, court records show.
A former girlfriend described Alfred “Skip” Nichols as a recovering alcoholic. She said the 49-year-old had been sober for at least four years and never piloted a balloon after drinking.
Nichols pleaded guilty to driving while intoxicated in St. Louis County in 1990, then twice in 2002 and again in 2010, according to online court records.
He was also convicted of a drug crime in 2000 and spent about a year-and-a-half in prison before being paroled. He was returned to prison in April 2010 after his parole was revoked because of his drunken driving conviction that year. He was paroled again in January 2012.
Also in Missouri, the Better Business Bureau warned consumers about doing business with a balloon touring company Nichols used to operate in that state.
The former girlfriend, Wendy Bartch, said Nichols “did not fly when he wasn’t supposed to. Having other people’s lives at stake was Skip’s primary concern.”
Authorities have not publicly named anyone killed in Saturday’s crash, saying it could take a while to identify the bodies. But Nichols was identified as the pilot by his friend and roommate Alan Lirette, who said that Nichols was a good pilot.
“That’s the only thing I want to talk about, is that he’s a great pilot,” Lirette said, from a house he shared with Nichols in Kyle, Texas.
Authorities say the balloon, which was operated by Heart of Texas Hot Air Balloon Rides, hit high-tension power lines before crashing into a pasture Saturday near Lockhart, about 60 miles northeast of San Antonio.
The National Transportation Safety Board is investigating. Board member Robert Sumwalt said the pilot was licensed to fly the balloon.
The St. Louis Post-Dispatch reported in 2008 that the Better Business Bureau had warned consumers about doing business with Nichols. It was the third time since 2000 that he received an unsatisfactory rating for not responding to complaints.
The paper quoted the BBB as saying Nichols was on probation in Missouri for the distribution, delivery or manufacture of a controlled substance.
At the site of Saturday’s crash, NTSB investigators recovered 14 personal electronic devices, including cellphones, an iPad and three cameras. They will be sent to a lab in Washington for analysis.
Although the baskets of many hot air balloons are limited to three to five people, some models used by sightseeing companies are much larger and can accommodate 20 people or more.