re: 16 dead in hot air balloon accident in TX

The photo of the girl and her mother on the balloon was unsettling. She bought the ticket for the trip as a Mother's Day present. The two looked like they were having fun and were happy just minutes before their deaths. Just awful.
You know that life is fragile, but I remember seeing a photo like that of a father and son before a terrorist attack. Same thing.
Its easy to pass headlines like that off and go about your day. Hard not to at least think about it a bit when you read the story, but to see these happy, smiling people just minutes before a tragic death really humanizes the story and reminds you that these were real people with real lives.

As someone who has crewed and flown for years I can assure you that it is overall pretty safe depending on who you're flying with. Do your research if you really want to go. Talk to the ride company or pilot about their ground limits. Find out when their annual was done.

The ride companies are incredibly safe because they have to be. This is their livelihood after all.

Personally if you really want to do it and are worried about safety, avoid the professional ride companies and find a pilot you can crew with for a few times to see how they approach things. Seeing how they approach flying may make you feel more at ease then jumping in a cattle car balloon for the firs time.

I view it no differently than getting in a small plane with someone I don't know flying. There a lot more people that get killed in single engine planes than hot air balloons.