Balloon crash pilot 'was professional'

People leave the scene of the fatal balloon crash in Clareville, near Carterton.

A woman who worked with the pilot involved in the Carterton balloon crash described their 15-year working relationship to the coroner at Wellington District Court yesterday.

Sally Livingston was the first person to give evidence to Coroner Peter Ryan in the resumed inquest into the death of 11 people in January 2012, after a balloon crashed into power lines and caught fire.

Mrs Livingston told the coroner in a joint statement with her husband Andrew about the professional relationship they shared with the balloon pilot, 53-year-old Lance Hopping.

Both Mr and Mrs Livingston are shareholders in Early Morning Balloons, which operated commercial balloon flights.

Together the pair entered into a professional relationship with Mr Hopping in 1996, after they hired him and his company Ballooning New Zealand as a contractor. Mrs Livingston told the coroner they saw an opportunity to expand their Hawke's Bay-based business into Wairarapa.

The Transport Accident Investigation Commission (TAIC) has already established that pilot errors were ultimately responsible for the balloon crash.

At the time, Mr Hopping had cannabis in his system.

Despite a relationship that spanned nearly two decades, Ms Livingston said neither she nor her husband knew anything about Mr Hopping's drug use.

At the time the balloon went down, his medical certificate had lapsed, Mrs Livingston said.

Mrs Livingston said that, as a contractor, Mr Hopping was in charge of the maintenance of the balloon and was required to have a current balloon pilot licence and medical certificate, although they did not monitor this closely.

They were satisfied that Mr Hopping's operations were competent and professional, she said.

"We felt no need for close supervision or intensive oversight," Mrs Livingston said. "We just took his word."

The inquest continues.