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Hot-air balloon pilot was on coke and cannabis during fatal power line crash: investigators
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August 21, 2023
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0:39Now PlayingThe pilot of a hot-air balloon that crashed in New Mexico was on cocaine and cannabis when he hit power lines, sending all five people aboard plummetting 100 feet to their deaths, according to investigators.
Nicholas Meleski’s “recent use” of coke and marijuana likely had “impairing effects” that contributed to the June 26, 2021, crash, the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) concluded in its final report into the deadliest balloon accident in New Mexico’s history.
The 62-year-old pilot did not maintain enough clearance from the power lines and struck them while trying to land in Albuquerque, according to the NTSB, which found no evidence of mechanical malfunctions or failures.
The basket detached from the balloon and plummeted 100 feet to the ground, killing Meleski, Susan Montoya, 65, her husband, John Montoya, 61, Martin Martinez, 59, and his wife, Mary, 62.
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