PHOENIX — An autopsy report has been amended to show that the pilot of a hot air balloon that crashed in Arizona, killing him and three others, was given an anesthetic after the crash.
The Pinal County Medical Examiner’s Office said earlier this week that toxicology tests showed Cornelius van der Walt had a large amount of ketamine in his blood, but did not specify how it entered his system or when.
The Droplyne Hot Air Balloon Rides balloon plunged about 2,000 feet (609 meters) to the desert floor on January 14 south of Phoenix, near Eloy.
The amended report released Friday clarified that while neither Eloy Fire Department paramedics nor hospital staff administered ketamine, the air ambulance company that transported Van der Walt to a hospital did. There were no further substantial changes to the report.
The company, Air Evac Services, did not respond to a telephone message from The Associated Press after hours at its Phoenix office on Friday.
The cause of the crash is still under investigation.
A preliminary report from the National Transportation Safety Board earlier this year said there was damage to the top of the envelope, where the sewn rim tape had frayed, and that several panels of the balloon were damaged. The envelope is filled with hot air, which causes the balloon to rise.
Thirteen people were aboard the Kubicek BB 85 Z balloon when it took off from Eloy on the morning of January 14. Eight were skydivers who left the gondola before the crash.
The paratroopers jumped out at an altitude of approximately 1,524 metres. Witnesses said the balloon partially deflated and began to rapidly lose altitude before making a hard impact in an empty field that serves as a drop zone for paratroopers.
Van der Walt, 37, and three passengers were killed, including 28-year-old Kaitlynn “Katie” Bartrom of Andrews, Indiana; 28-year-old Chayton Wiescholek of Union City, Michigan; and 24-year-old Atahan Kiliccote of Cupertino, California. Another woman was seriously injured in the accident.
Droplyne Hot Air Balloon Rides notes on its website that it had a perfect safety record before the crash and has since ceased operations at its only two locations in Eloy and Utah.