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An amateurish video posted by self-characterized Paul supporter NHLiberty4Paul questions Huntsman's "American values," shows Huntsman, a former ambassador to China, speaking in Mandarin and calls him the "Manchurian Candidat
IT WAS meant to be a routine joy flight, but as the brightly striped hot-air balloon plunged to earth yesterday morning in front of horrified family and other witnesses, it became a national tragedy for New Zealand.
Smiles and waves from those on board the dawn flight over the small town of Carterton on New Zealand's North Island turned to screams, as the balloon became engulfed in flames and plummeted, after becoming entangled in a power line.
All 11 on board - five couples from the Wellington area and 50-year-old pilot Lance Hopping - died in the crash.
Mr Hopping was described as an experienced and safety-conscious pilot with more than 1000 hours of hot-air ballooning experience.
Horrified witnesses watched as two of the passengers, reportedly a man and a woman, made a desperate leap from the blazing basket, while it was still well above the ground. Their bodies were found 200 metres from the wreckage.
Witness Neil Hickland, who lives near the crash site, said the balloon ''all of a sudden … shot straight up as if it had been given the full throttle''.
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''When it got up about 60-odd metres they were all screaming,'' Mr Hickland said. ''One jumped out and then another, they were just black figures falling, not on fire.''
Emergency services were at the scene, near Carterton, within three minutes but could not help any of the victims, who were coming to the end of a scenic 45-minute flight and hoping to land in a paddock about 7.25am.
Wairarapa police Area Commander Inspector Brent Register said it appeared the balloon hit power lines and the sparks started a fire in the basket, which rapidly spread.
Yesterday's tragedy was the worst air disaster in New Zealand since 1963, when a DC-3 airliner crashed in the Kaimai Range on the North Island, killing all 23 passengers and crew aboard
Vineyard manager Bevan Lambess said those on board had no chance - the balloon was too high for them to safely jump. ''From a distance … it looked like something was holding it down and I thought it was ropes but it was actually power lines,'' he said.
A holidaying nurse from an Auckland hospital, one of the first on the scene, dodged live power lines to try to save the lives of the two who had jumped. Jacqui O'Connor, 38, said the balloon became ''like a cartoon character'' as it combusted and darted around the sky before crashing.
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The balloon company's regular photographer, Geoff Walker, who took photos of the 10 passengers as they climbed aboard the balloon, said initially: ''It was just brilliant, everybody was really excited - this was going to be the best day of their lives.''
The morning was clear and conditions for the trip were ideal, but shortly before the flight was due to land, something went wrong.
Mr Walker was about 400 metres away when the balloon got into trouble. He continued taking photographs with one hand while dialling emergency services with the other.
Police are now using his photographs to piece together what happened.
Mr Walker said witnessing the crash was the most distressing thing he had ever seen. ''I think you only see one thing like that in your lifetime,'' he said.
Tragically, family members of many on board were even closer to the balloon when tragedy struck.
''They saw the whole thing. It's horrific,'' Mr Walker said.
Many of those in the balloon had received tickets as Christmas gifts - one couple was given the tickets by their daughters who were following the balloon's flight path in their car.
