A public service announcement for all you hot-air balloon pilots out there:
STAY AWAY FROM DRUGS!
Or else you might end up like this man:
Yup, no joke here, guys. Pilot Nicholas Meleski killed 5 people, including himself.
The pilot of a hot-air balloon that crashed in New Mexico was on cocaine and cannabis when he hit power lines, sending all five people aboard plummeting 100 feet to their deaths, according to investigators…
The 62-year-old pilot did not maintain enough clearance from the power lines and struck them while trying to land in Albuquerque, according to the [National Transportation Safety Board], which found no evidence of mechanical malfunctions or failures.
The basket detached from the balloon and plummeted 100 feet to the ground, killing Meleski, Susan Montoya, 65, her husband, John Montoya, 61, Martin Martinez, 59, and his wife, Mary, 62.
A bucket list item, I'm sure, for these folks. And now their bucket lists are no more.
All because of some marijuana and a few lines of cocaine.
Now, nobody will ever be quite sure if Meleski was "on" cocaine and marijuana during the flight, but the final report from the National Transportation Safety Board says his recent use of marijuana and cocaine likely impaired his piloting and contributed to the June 2021 crash.
Moral of the story, kids.
Stay away from drugs altogether.
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