Report: Hot air balloon pilot had ketamine in his system during Arizona crash that killed 4

Ehren Wynder
·2 min read
UPI
Hot air balloons take flight at the New Jersey Lottery Festival of Ballooning at Solberg Airport in Readington, N.J. Investigators found the pilot of the fatal hot air balloon crash in Eloy, Ariz., in January had elevated levels of ketamine in his system. File Photo by John Angelillo/UPI

April 4 (UPI) -- The pilot of a hot air balloon that crashed in the Arizona desert and killed four people in January had elevated levels of ketamine in his system, an autopsy found.

An autopsy report signed by the Pinal County chief medical examiner on Monday determined "ketamine was found in the cardiac blood" of Cornelius Van Der Walt.

Van Der Walt, 37, reportedly had ketamine levels of between 1.1 to 1.2 mg/L. He had no reportedly prescription for the drug, and it was not used during resuscitation attempts, the report stated.

The Drug Enforcement Administration describes ketamine as a "dissociative anesthetic that has some hallucinogenic effects."

It can be prescribed as an anesthetic and as a nasal spray for treatment-resistant depression, but it can be abused, according to the DEA.

The report determined Van Der Walt's death was the cause of multiple blunt force trauma, and the manner of his death was an accident.

Three other people were killed when the hot air balloon, operated by Van Der Walt's company Droplyne Hot Air Balloon Rides, crashed during a skydiving trip in January.

The aircraft was carrying 13 passengers, including Van Der Walt, four passengers and eight skydivers. At about 5,000 feet, the skydivers safely jumped from the basket.

Immediately after that, the balloon partially deflated and dropped to about 4,000 feet, where the craft appeared to regain some control but still continued to descend, according to the repot.

At about 2,000 feet the balloon reportedly fell straight down at an unknown high rate of speed and hit the ground. Witnesses then called 911.

Police identified the three other victims as Chayton Wiescholek, 28, from Union City, Mich.; Kaitlynn Bartrom, 28, from Andrews, Ind.; and Atahan Kiliccote, 24, from Cupertino, Calif.

Valerie Sutton, 23, of Scottsdale, Ariz., survived but was critically injured.

A preliminary report from the National Transportation Safety Board found the material near the top of the balloon was frayed and several of the panels were damaged.

Droplyne Hot Air Balloon Rides temporarily halted services because of the crash, according to the company's website.

The aircraft was an A-160 passenger balloon manufactured by Cameron Balloons. The model is rated to carry up to seven riders plus the pilot, according to the company's website.