Craig Daily Press

Hot air balloon pilot Ian Cox never thought the man would jump.

But on Tuesday, near the end of a half-hour trip south of downtown Steamboat, 54-year-old John Lippincott of Boulder plunged over the side of the balloon’s basket, falling 700 feet to a sudden, inexplicable death.

“I was on the radio to one of my crew members, and as I glanced back at him, his head was going down, his feet were coming up, and he was off the edge of the basket,” Cox said. “And that was the last I saw of him.”

Lippincott landed in an open field southwest of the Steamboat Springs Christian Center, near U.S. Highway 40 and Dougherty Lane. The incident occurred at about 8:30 a.m.

Capt. Joel Rae of the Steamboat Springs Police Department said numerous law enforcement and public safety agencies responded to the scene.

Rae said in addition to Cox and Lippincott, four other passengers were on the flight: two teenage girls from Missouri, ages 15 and 16, and a boyfriend and girlfriend from Massachusetts, both 22.

Cox is a certified pilot who has flown hot air balloons commercially in Steamboat Springs since 1982. He said Lippincott appeared nervous and acted strangely since the flight began at about 8 a.m.

“He wanted several photos of himself with another person’s camera, and he kept asking about it, which I thought was strange,” Cox said. “He sat on the edge of the basket one time… It wasn’t a particularly dangerous thing, but I didn’t like it. He was never outside the basket, he just sat with his butt on the edge. I reprimanded him in the strongest way to make sure he came back inside the basket.”

“I never dreamed that he was suicidal, no,” Cox added.

So fast

Lora Wyman, a customer service representative for Wild West Balloon Adventures of Steamboat, described the incident as “a terrible situation.”

“It happened so fast,” Wyman said. “There was little anybody could do, once (Lippincott) decided that was what he was going to do.”

Rae said the incident still is under investigation, but criminal activity is not likely.

“There is no indication of anything criminal or any foul play taking place,” Rae said. “It is being investigated as an accident or a suicide at this point.”

Cox said he wishes Lippincott’s action had not occurred in such a public setting.

“I’m angry that he would impact other people’s pleasure, particularly the other passengers on the flight,” Cox said. “My confidence remains high, because I did nothing wrong. I couldn’t have anticipated he would jump, and I operated the balloon in a normal way.”

Cox said passengers on the balloon “were freaked out — they were very upset, and understandably.”

“It’s awful for people to see something like that,” Wyman added. “We’ve never had an incident like this — (Lippincott) just decided he was going to jump.”

Unheard of

Rae said the Federal Aviation Administration and National Transportation Safety Board, or NTSB, were notified of the incident.

According to NTSB statistics, eight fatalities have occurred on hot air balloon rides nationwide in the past five years.

Cox, who passed his FAA Flight Exam in 1982 and has logged over 3,500 balloon flights, said the previous fatalities were likely accidents — not intentional.

“I asked in the industry, and no one has ever heard of someone doing this before,” Cox said. “This would be a first in the industry, I think.”

Wyman said there was no problem with the balloon or pilot error in the incident.

Rae and Routt County Coroner Rob Ryg would not comment on whether alcohol or drugs led to Lippincott’s fall, saying such factors are part of the ongoing investigation.

Wild West Balloon Adventures advertises celebratory champagne as part of the flight package, but Cox said the drinks are served at the end of the flight and were not a factor Tuesday morning.

Cox said that even in the moments before the fall, he had no warning from Lippincott.

“When my back was turned… he got back on the edge of the basket. Instead of staying inside, he rolled back over like a scuba diver,” Cox said. “When he jumped, he didn’t shout — there was none of that.

“It was silent the whole time. Not a word.”