LEWISTON — Organizers of an upcoming Maine balloon festival are offering safety information after a weekend hot air balloon crash killed 16 people in Texas.
The Sun Journal reported that the 24th Great Falls Balloon Festival is set to take place Aug. 19-21 in Lewiston.
The festival’s website says it only invites pilots who have passed yearly in-flight tests to maintain commercial pilot licenses. The balloons must pass yearly safety inspections that include testing the fuel system.
There have been no deaths since the popular festival started in 1992. In a 2011 incident, four people were burned from a fire sparked by a fuel line leak.
The Office of the Maine State Fire Marshal says the office has worked with Lewiston safety officials to ensure that propane tanks are filled properly.
Send questions/comments to the editors.
-
Nation & World
The Latest: N.H. House approves a bill to refund fines paid by businesses that have violated emergency orders
-
Maine Authors
BUSHNELL ON BOOKS: ‘Wild! Weird! Wonderful! Maine’ and ‘The Maine Point’
-
Health care
Disparity in vaccine distributions across Maine worsens – and explanations conflict
-
Letters to the Editor
Waterville should reconsider location of rink
-
Opinion
Today’s editorial cartoon
Success. Please wait for the page to reload. If the page does not reload within 5 seconds, please refresh the page.
Enter your email and password to access comments.
Hi {SUB NAME}, to comment on stories you must . This profile is in addition to your subscription and website login.
Already have one? .
Invalid username/password.
Please check your email to confirm and complete your registration.
Only subscribers are eligible to post comments. Please subscribe or login to participate in the conversation. Here’s why.
Use the form below to reset your password. When you've submitted your account email, we will send an email with a reset code.