Egypt balloon crash: Nile-based firm's long history of accidents

The Egyptian company whose hot air balloon crashed with the deaths of 19 tourists has defended its safety record despite revelations of previous accidents dating back to the 1990s, and one as recently as 2011.

 Sky Cruise, which operates four balloons in Luxor, was inspected by Egypt’s civil aviation authority on Feb 15, its manager, Khaled Hatata, said.

The company suffered its first recorded incident in 1996, when it was known as Balloons Over Egypt. On that occasion a balloon was blown off course and landed in the desert. The vehicles sent to pick up the eight passengers became bogged down in the sand before they reached them.

It has suffered more accidents since, though no fatalities. Two years ago, a Sky Cruise balloon, identical to the one that crashed on Tuesday, was filmed ditching in the Nile, hitting a boat.

 “This is the first time an incident of this scale has occurred in Egypt,” Mr Hatata said. “I do not know the cause of the accident but if I had known of any defect I would not allow it to fly.”

He said there had been a fire extinguisher on board and showed the flight inspection docket, the balloon’s safety certificate valid till October this year, and the company licence, which expires on March 26 and was in the process of being renewed.

The accident is the worst recorded tourist balloon disaster. Witnesses said the flight was coming in to land after a dawn tour over the Nile and the Valley of the Kings near Luxor when it got into difficulties.

“The ground crew said they were pulling the tether rope down and were surprised to see smoke coming out of the balloon,” Mr Hatata said. “The pilot was on fire and jumped out of the balloon, which then started to rise again.”

One theory is that the tow rope dislodged one of the gas pipes.

The company, the first to start offering balloon rides in Luxor in 1989, worked with Thomas Cook and was founded by a British company in partnership with a local businessman. That businessman bought out the company in 2003, when it changed its name to Sky Cruise.

Ashraf Abdulfattah, the ground crew manager, said the original pilots had been British and the subsequent Egyptian ones, including Mohmin Murad, the man flying the balloon on Tuesday, were trained by British operators.

The Luxor prosecutor said a scientific report would be issued in 15 days’ time and would form the basis for a decision on whether to prosecute.

Yvonne Rennie, 48, from Perth, was among the victims, along with Joe Bampton, from south London, and his Hungarian girlfriend, Suzanna Gyetvai. Mrs Rennie’s husband, Michael, was recovering in hospital in Cairo. The balloon pilot also survived.