Texas Hot Air Balloon Crash Kills 16 People

U.S. safety investigators in central Texas began gathering evidence on Sunday into what caused the crash of a hot air balloon that killed 16 people after it hit a power line and plummeted to the ground in flames. The balloon crashed on Saturday into a pasture near Lockhart, about 30 miles (48 km) south of Austin, killing all aboard. It was the deadliest crash ever involving a hot air balloon in the Western Hemisphere, according to the Balloon Federation of North America. Aerial television footage showed flattened remnants of the red, white and blue balloon, adorned with a yellow smiley face wearing sunglasses.