Balloon Company Had Two Previous Crashes Spokane-Based Firm Also Sued In ‘88 By Woman Claiming Injury In Crash

Sunday’s crash of an American Hot Air lines balloon near Donald, Ore., wasn’t the first for the Spokane-based company.

The National Transportation Safety Board has investigated two other crashes involving the firm’s hot-air balloons since 1988, according to federal records.

And a North Dakota woman sued the company in 1988, claiming she was injured when one of its pilots lost control of a balloon during a sightseeing flight over Spokane.

On Sunday, one man was killed and seven other people injured when an American Hot Airlines balloon hit a tree and dumped its passengers outside Donald, about 25 miles southwest of Portland.

Carl Allamand, 70, of Union, Ore., died in the mishap and two passengers, including the pilot, injured their spines in the fall, authorities said.

Officials from the National Transportation Safety Board office in Seattle were investigating the crash.

The red, white and blue balloon apparently went down as the pilot was trying to land to pick up more fuel, according to preliminary reports from the Federal Aviation Administration.

Frank Schweighardt, 53, of Portland was flying the balloon at the time of the crash.

Efforts to reach American Hot Airlines owner Roger Stadtmueller at his home and offices in Spokane and Portland were unsuccessful Monday.

Answering machines at both offices said the business was closed for the day.

In 1988, National Transportation Safety Board officials investigated an American Hot Airlines crash in Phoenix, where the company flies its balloons during the winter season.

Eight people were slightly hurt when the balloon malfunctioned during descent and crashed into a fence and tree, investigators said.

NTSB officials said a faulty deflation line caused the crash and blamed the pilot for not catching the problem during his preflight inspection.

Five years later, another American Hot Airlines balloon plummeted into a tree in Phoenix, records state.

None of the eight people on board was injured, but the balloon sustained substantial damage.

The pilot, who wasn’t identified, told investigators he was landing in a field when the wind pushed him into some trees.

Officials blamed that crash on “the pilot’s inadequate planned approach to the landing area,” according to a report.

In 1988, Gladys Umsted of Page, N.D., filed a lawsuit against American Hot Airlines in Spokane County Superior Court.

Umsted said she cracked two ribs and received other injuries during a 1986 flight.

The pilot lost control of the balloon shortly after it left Holmberg Park and was forced to crash-land in a remote area of Spokane County, court documents said.

The suit was dismissed when Umsted failed to pursue it.

Other legal claims are pending against American Hot Airlines, however.

Two groups have sued the company in Spokane County Superior Court for breach of contract, claiming they failed to receive refunds for prepaid flights that were constantly canceled.

The Better Business Bureau and state attorney general’s office have received similar complaints.

Stadtmueller has maintained the rides were canceled because of bad weather and has insisted the tickets would be honored.

, DataTimes