ELOY, Arizona — A Michigan family is asking for help burying their son after a hot air balloon crash claimed his life and three others over the weekend.
Chayton Wiescholek, 28, from Union City, was a mechanic at a dry-ice manufacturer in Albion. He went to Eloy, Arizona for a vacation with his girlfriend to escape the cold weather. But what was supposed to be a thrilling experience for the couple turned deadly.
While on a hot air balloon ride Sunday morning in a desert area, the balloon crashed, the National Transportation Safety Board said. Multiple people made 911 calls to report what they saw.
"Never in a million years, did I think that our family would get this news. This accident was very clearly a devastation, and there’s no way our family and friends could have prepared our hearts for this tragedy," said a loved one, Gwendolyn Morrow, on a GoFundMe for Chayton's family.
She remembers Chayton as "the life of the party, the adventure seeker, and solid voice of reason." She says he lit everyone and anyone up just by being in their presence.
Eloy Mayor Micah Powell said 13 people were on board the balloon gondola – eight skydivers, one operator and four passengers.
The crash happened after the eight skydivers had exited the balloon. Chayton's girlfriend was one of the skydivers.
"He was in the balloon just supporting [his girlfriend] because he wanted to be with her and do the stuff she wanted to do," Chayton Wiescholek's mother, Rhonda Wiescholek, told 12News.
Wiescholek said it was her son's girlfriend who called her and told her about the crash, minutes after it happened.
"She just said that his balloon went down and crashed, and I needed to get down here," Rhonda Wiescholek said. "That's where I stopped her. I hung up and was finding a way to get to Arizona."
Chayton's mother said her son loved the outdoors, camping and trying new things. But he also enjoyed DJing at weddings, dances and schools part-time.
Rhonda said she can't wrap her brain around the idea that her son is gone.
"You just don't. It's just a broken piece, it's gone," she said.
Chayton was the oldest of two brothers. His mother traveled to Arizona and hopes to return home with his remains.
"Those were the only two sons I had," the mother said. "Now, I have one. But I do know that he was very happy with what he was doing and whom he was with."
Morrow organized a GoFundMe to help the Wiescholek family honor their son's life at a funeral and memorial service. You can support them here.
According to an eyewitness, the material of the hot air balloon was straight up and down as it came down and the impact was large.
Three people were taken to an area hospital, where they later died. One person was pronounced dead at the scene of the crash, Powell said.
Eloy police identified the other deceased as Kaitlynn Bartom, 28, from Andrews, Indiana; Atahan Kiliccote, 24, from Cupertino, California and 37-year-old Cornelius Van Der Walt who was from South Africa, but lived in Eloy.
Valerie Stutterheim, 23, a Scottsdale resident, was taken to a trauma center in Phoenix, where she is fighting for her life, according to police.
Bartrom's family told 12News she loved adventure and had recently become a registered nurse. Kiliccote was a graduate engineer working in Chicago.
Authorities identified Van Der Walt as the pilot. He is the owner of Droplyne, the company behind the ride that turned deadly.
The company was formed in 2017 and operates daily rides in Eloy during the winter months and in Moab, Utah in the summer, according to the company's website.
Social media videos show skydivers jumping out of the basket in mid-air at the same time on multiple occasions and a sole operator landing the balloon at times.
The NTSB said Monday that investigators have not found any mechanical anomalies with the balloon during an examination.
Eloy Police Chief Byron Gwaltney said the balloon did not originate in Eloy.
American Ballooning Safety and Training Association President Eliav Cohen said there are two reasons a hot air balloon might become deflated.
"It's most likely because of the skydiving operation that caused that parachute to some reason float and then close its mouth. So, when they say it's up and down, at that point, you couldn't get any more air in," Cohen said.
Cohen said it's also possible the basket was too light after the eight sky divers jumped.
"If at that point there were a wind shear, you know, big gust of wind, because it was lightly loaded, it could cause that as well. Now, normally loaded, you could not have that issue," Cohen said.
Cohen told 12News that sky diving from a hot air balloon is incredibly reckless and risky for anyone on board.
"It's extremely, extremely rare to float a top because it means you have to be going up at least 1,300, 1,400, 1,500 feet a minute and the balloon is not supposed to by the manufacturer go over 1,000 feet per minute," Cohen said.
The NTSB and Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) are at the scene investigating.
Investigators are speaking to witnesses and reviewing video of the incident to piece together what led up to the crash.
This incident is not the only hot air balloon incident in Arizona. As recently as December, a hot air balloon came down in north Phoenix. In another instance in March 2023, one made an emergency landing in Mesa.
According to the NTSB, there have been dozens of hot air balloon incidents investigated by the agency since 1982.
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