Posted On: October 31, 2007, 9:19 am CDT

Posted By: Nan

One might ask why people are asked to sign a waiver for things like bungee jumping, sky diving, or hot air balloons? Could it be because they carry an inherent risk? What about assumption of risk? Nothing in life comes with a 100% guarantee of safety. Here you have a 60 year old woman who gets ejected from a gondola during an attempt to free the balloon from the overhead wires. Wouldn't a reasonable, prudent, mature adult make every effort to get into a "safe" position during that exercise? Why was she the only one who fell out?

This was apparently an experienced balloon pilot. There is no suggestion of gross neglect or indifference for safety. I don't think this is a slam dunk by any stretch. The suggestion that the pilot should be responsible every weather/wind related contingency is absurd. Making "black and white" distinctions in liability situations is irresponsible. That's like blaming a commercial airline pilot for a crash caused by "wind shear". This was a tragic accident that just may not be anyone's fault.