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Slovenian pilot charged for hot air balloon crash: report

Xinhua, May 9, 2015 Adjust font size:

A Slovenian hot air balloon pilot is facing prosecution due to his technical mistakes that killed six people in October 2012, Slovenian News reported on Saturday.

Based on an official crash investigation report by aviation safety authorities, the pilot, Miro Koles, was charged with general endangerment, and could be sentenced to eight years in prison.

The hot air balloon with 32 people on board crashed near Ig on the outskirts of Ljubljana in the early morning of Aug. 23, 2012. It was the worst of its kind in the country.

In its investigation report, the Aircraft Accident and Incident Investigation Service attributed the balloon crash to the pilot's failure to close the gas tanks after they were damaged in a collision with a tree during landing.

A storm raging near Ljubljana at the time of the accident also contributed to the crash, said the report. Endit