Cascading Waterfall

I like the Thanks feature we now have here. Would it be possible for us to have a LOL feature too?

In the birthplace of the Titanic, residents will gather for a choral requiem. In the North Atlantic, above the ship's final resting place, passengers will pray as a band strikes up a hymn and three floral wreaths are cast onto the waves. A century after the great ship went down with the loss of 1,500 lives, events around the globe are marking a tragedy that retains a titanic grip on the world's imagination - an icon of Edwardian luxury that became, in a few dark hours 100 years ago, an enduring emblem of tragedy. Helen Edwards, one of 1,309 passengers on memorial cruise aboard the liner Balmoral who have spent the past week steeped in the Titanic's history and symbolism, said Saturday that the story's continuing appeal was due to its strong mixture of romance and tragedy, history and fate. "(There are) all the factors that came together for the ship to be right there, then, to hit that iceberg. All the stories of the passengers who ended up on the ship," said Edwards, a 62-year-old retiree from Silver Spring, Maryland. "It's just a microcosm of social history, personal histories, nautical histories. "Romance is an appropriate word right up until the time of the tragedy - the band playing, the clothes. And then there's the tragedy." The world's largest and most luxurious ocean liner, Titanic was traveling from England to New York, carrying everyone from plutocrats to penniless emigrants, when it struck an iceberg at 11.40pm on April 14, 1912. It sank less than three hours later, with the loss of more than 1,500 of the 2,208 passengers and crew. Aboard the Balmoral, a cruise ship taking history buffs and descendants of Titanic victims on the route of the doomed voyage, passengers and crew will hold two memorial services at the site of the disaster, 400 miles (640 kilometers) off the coast of Newfoundland - one marking the time when the ship hit the iceberg, the other the moment it sank below the waves. At 2.20am ship's time on Sunday - 0547 GMT or 12.47am EDT - a minister will lead prayers, floral wreaths will be thrown into the sea and a shipboard band, which has been entertaining guests in the evenings during the cruise, will play "Nearer My God To Thee," the tune the Titanic's band kept up as the vessel went down. The Rev. Huw Mosford, who will lead the prayers, said he hoped the service would be uplifting. "It will bring healing, it will bring some form of closure, perhaps - but I think it will also bring hope," he told the BBC. Edwards will, earlier, hold her own private act of remembrance. She is carrying the ashes of family friend Adam Lackey, a Titanic buff from Montana who died last year, and plans to scatter them at the wreck site. Passengers aboard the cruise, which left Southampton, England, on April 8, have enjoyed lectures on Titanic history, as well as the usual cruise-ship recreations of bridge, shuffleboard and lounging in a hot tub. Many have dressed in period costume for elaborate balls and a formal dinner recreating the last meal served aboard the ship. Some of the passengers have a direct link to the ship, through an ancestor who was onboard. Most feel some sort of connection to an event whose ripples have resonated for a century. Edwards said the lives of her grandparents, who married in 1911, were marked by the disaster even though they lived far away in Montana. "They had talked about going back to Sweden to see his parents, and they didn't because of the Titanic," she said. Another cruise ship, Journey, left New York on Tuesday and will join Balmoral at the site. In Belfast, Northern Ireland, where Titanic was built - pride of the Harland & Wolff shipyard - thousands were expected to attend a choral requiem at the Anglican St. Anne's Cathedral or a nationally televised concert at the city's Waterfront Hall on Saturday. The city spent decades scarred by its link to the disaster, but has come to take pride in the feats of engineering and industry involved in building the Titanic. The memorial concert will feature performances by Bryan Ferry and soul singer Joss Stone, as well as 100 drummers beating out a new percussion work, "Titanic Drums." Actors including Kenneth Branagh, Simon Callow and Imelda Staunton will read from contemporary accounts of the disaster. At the cathedral, the performance of composer Philip Hammond's "The Requiem for the Lost Souls of the Titanic" will be followed by a torch-lit procession to the Titanic Memorial in the grounds of Belfast city hall. In the ship's departure port of Southampton, an orchestra will play composer Gavin Bryars' work "The Sinking of the Titanic," and a commemoration is planned in Halifax, Nova Scotia, where more than 100 victims of the tragedy are buried. The most famous maritime disaster in history is being marked around the world, even in places without direct links to it. Venues in Las Vegas, San Diego, Houston and even Singapore are hosting Titanic exhibitions that include artifacts recovered from the site of the wreck. Among them: bottles of perfume, porcelain dishes, even a 17-foot piece of hull. The centenary of the disaster has been marked with a global outpouring of commemoration and commerce. Events have ranged from the opening of a glossy new tourist attraction telling the ship's story in Belfast to a 3-D rerelease of James Cameron's 1997 romantic weepie "Titanic," which awakened a new generation's interest in the disaster. http://www.nzherald.co.nz/world/news/article.cfm?c_id=2&objectid=10798995

A terrified passenger on a hot air balloon that hit trees yesterday said she thought about jumping to save herself. An eyewitness, who did not want to be named, said he heard screaming from the 18 passengers as the balloon, operated by Up Up and Away, was hit by a strong wind gust and tore on trees while trying to land in North Canterbury about 8am. The Civil Aviation Authority has launched an investigation. Savannah Hyssong was riding with her partner: "At least half the balloon hit the tree, and the basket was also in the trees. There were massive holes. It freaked me out. The only thing I was thinking was should I jump out and grab a branch." A 7-year-old girl was crying during the ordeal, and her father was hit on the head by a branch, Hyssong said. "There were sudden screams of panic. I think a lot of people were terrified." In the final attempt at landing, the balloon hit the ground "really hard" and bounced back up, and the basket tipped over, she said. "We all landed on our backs. It was insane. Freaky – scary as hell. That's not the way it is supposed to be. After we landed there were still huge pieces of tree stuck in the balloon. Everyone took a pinecone from the basket." The eyewitness said: "I saw the balloon trying to land. It jumped the fence a bit and the wind got hold of it – the nor'easterly is quite gusty. I ended up chasing it in my bare feet." He said a group of neighbours gathered to search for the balloon after it was swirled away in the winds. They found it on a property about 1.5km from where it had originally tried to land. The scare comes just two months after a fatal balloon crash in Carterton in January in which 11 people died when a balloon plunged to the ground in flames after hitting powerlines. The Transport Accident Investigation Commission subsequently called for urgent checks on the maintenance of all 74 balloons in the country. Hyssong said: "My partner and I talked about it [Carterton] before we went up." But she never dreamed she would experience her own terror. In 1995, three passengers died when a balloon in Christchurch was caught by a southerly squall and landed in the sea off Waimairi Beach. Police Southern Communications spokesman Inspector Mike Coulter said a member of the public called police, who were at the scene shortly after the hot air balloon landed. No-one was injured and police were able to speak to the passengers and pilot. A spokeswoman for Up Up and Away, who would not be named, said there was "no forced landing" and "no incident". "There was no risk to passengers, no emergency landing, no forced landing. They did a landing under standard procedure. There was a small tear that did not compromise the safety or the air-worthiness of the balloon." The Civil Aviation Authority said investigators would start interviews tomorrow. Earlier this month, as part of the Balloons Over Wairarapa festival, 11 helium-filled white dove-shaped balloons were released as a tribute to those killed in the Carterton disaster: pilot Lance Hopping, 53, of Masterton; husband and wife Howard, 71, and Diana Cox, 63, of Wellington; husband and wife Desmond, 70, and Ann Dean, 65, of Masterton; cousins Valerie Bennett, 70, of Masterton and Denise Dellabarca, 58, of Paraparaumu; partners Stephen Hopkirk, 50, and Belinda Harter, 49, of Lower Hutt; and Johannes Jordann, known as Chrisjan, 21, and girlfriend Alexis Still, 19, both of Wellington. http://www.stuff.co.nz/sunday-star-times/latest-edition/6633210/Screams-heard-as-gust-hits-balloon

Identity of casket photo leaker is revealed. http://ohnotheydidnt.livejournal.com/67594515.html#cutid1

I was about to ask if anyone knew how I could subscribe to this thread, but I've just subscribed. It has been confirmed that her death was through accidental drowning. This was on the news 2 nights ago.

The names of the eight people who perished when a boat capsized in Foveaux Strait have been released. Nine people were aboard the 38-foot Easy Rider when a rogue wave struck off Saddle Point on the northern tip of Stewart Island at midnight on Wednesday and one survived. The eight who lost their lives are: Shane Ronald Topi, Invercargill, 29, William Rewai Desmond Karetai, Skipper of the boat, Bluff, 47, Paul Jason Fowler-Karetai, Invercargill, 40, Odin Karetai, Invercargill, 7,Boe Taikawa Gillies, Invercargill, 28, John Henry Karetai, Invercargill, 58, Peter Glen Pekamu-Bloxham, Invercargill, 53, David George Fowler, Invercargill, 50. Sole survivor Shane Reedy was found clinging to a barrel 18 hours after the capsize, is in a critical condition at Southland Hospital. Three bodies have been found and five remain missing, presumed dead. Two bodies were found early this afternoon east of the Easy Rider's wreck, in the predicted drift line. The body of a 30-year-old man was found last night. Bluff Coastguard president Andy Johnson said the boat was found mid-morning in 40 metres of water by Bishop Island. The navy ship Resolution had put a camera down and found the boat on its side on the ocean floor. The camera did not detect any people on it, he said. Full confirmation of whether it was the Easy Rider would not be possible until a dive team arrived later today. A cousin of the Easy Rider's skipper, Rewai Karetai, said the families were holding up OK but were frustrated at not having any bodies. "All the elder family members want is for the bodies back. They're being realistic - they don't believe they will get them," she said. She believed some people on board the Easy Rider were trapped in the wheelhouse, and the boat had broken. The current in the strait was fast and the bodies could be anywhere, she said. A woman who counted two of the men believed to be on the boat as friends, described both as "teddy bears". Rowdy Fisher had worked with Topi and Boe Gilles. She was closer to Topi, who worked weekend nights on the door while she was a DJ at a local bar, and spent time with him and his flatmates outside of work. "A mate just called me this morning and said 'he's gone'." "[Topi] was a real funny dude, always cracking jokes, just a big cuddly teddy bear. He was always asking about how you were. He was real good on the door, never got rough, but if someone was acting up he would just give them the time of day. He was always very professional with them." It is also understood one of the men on the sunken boat, Easy Rider, was Southland man Peter Bloxham. His father believed his son Peter was on board, but it had not been confirmed. He was at home waiting for news from police, saying he was not ready to talk about his son. Police iwi liaison officers and a Victim Support team were supporting the families involved. Bluff Community Board chairwoman Jan Mitchell said this morning the community would do what they could for the families. "We're rallying," she said. "The community is rallying together doing what we can." This week's tragedy brought back memories of the Kotuku, which capsized in the strait six years ago. "We will be there for the families, whatever it takes. We'll be there and doing what we can. At the moment we are hoping, hoping we will have people come home. If it's different we will, as a community, deal with it at that point." SEARCH UNDERWAY: The boat Easy Rider was heading north near Stewart Island when it capsized with nine people on board. LOST AT SEA: Easy Rider, a 38-foot vessel, capsized off Saddle Point at the northern tip of Stewart Island at about midnight on Wednesday. EASY RIDER SKIPPER: Rewai Karetai. http://www.stuff.co.nz/dominion-post/news/6585207/Foveaux-Strait-boating-victims-named

[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-EcgV8gZZ08]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-EcgV8gZZ08[/ame] Whitney Houston's Family Demands Murder Investigation: Last night I was looking up Whitney Houston interviews on Youtube when I came across the above clip. Apparently one of her relatives could be responsible for her death.

At first I thought her ex sister in law may have been the one who leaked the photo, but now I'm not sure who the culprit is. I am still upset about that photo though.

It was ages ago since the first time there were photos leaked of her, but the leaked casket photo was recent. And I posted about the leaked casket photo as I thought people here hadn't known about it. However I am sorry for putting up the link to it. I promise not to post up anymore links like that one.

New Zealand music is awesome. And yes New Zealanders do count as people.

http://scallywagandvagabond.com/2012/03/whitney-houston-casket-photo-leaker-rumored-to-be-bobby-browns-sister-tina/#top I was recently looking up Whitney images on Google when I came across the above leaked photo of her in her casket. The photo upset me because it is disrespectful not only to her, but also to her family, daughter, friends and fans. I am feeling more and more certain Tina Brown is responsible because she's leaked photos of Whitney once before and it has to her this time.

Concerts I've been to. The Holiday Makers and When The Cats Away, when I was young. They were both New Zealand bands who have since finished. I've also been to a Westlife concert a few years ago. All three concerts were held in Wellington. Coldplay came to New Zealand to do a concert in Auckland in 2009 or 2010, but I couldn't go because I was saving up for an overseas trip. This month Roxette also came over here to do a concert in Auckland, but I've had to miss out on that too and this is also because of saving up to go overseas.

Awesome. Another Crowded House fan here. Did you know they're originally from New Zealand? Anyway here's my 5 faves. Coldplay Roxette Matchbox 20 A1 Lady Antebellum

So she was found dead at 3.55pm American time. This was 12.55pm New Zealand time. Apparently her ex husband Bobby Brown was at the funeral despite rumours he had been asked not to attend.

Whitney Houston dead at 48. Whitney Houston, the golden girl of the music industry of the 80s and 90s has died. Whitney Houston dies: Whitney Houston, who ruled as pop music's queen until her majestic voice and regal image were ravaged by drug use, erratic behaviour and a tumultuous marriage to singer Bobby Brown, has died. She was 48. Beverly Hills police Lt. Mark Rosen told KABC-TV that Houston was pronounced dead at 3:55 pm in her room on the fourth floor of the Beverly Hilton. Her body remained in the hotel and Beverly Hills detectives were investigating. "There were no obvious signs of any criminal intent,'' Rosen said. Houston's publicist, Kristen Foster, said Saturday that the cause of her death was unknown. Houston's death came on the eve of music's biggest night - the Grammy Awards. It's a showcase where she once reigned, and her death was sure to cast a heavy pall on Sunday's ceremony. Her longtime mentor Clive Davis was to hold his annual concert and dinner Saturday, and a representative of the show said it would proceed. Houston was supposed to appear at the gala, and Davis had told The Associated Press that she would perhaps perform: ''It's her favourite night of the year ... (so) who knows by the end of the evening,'' he said. Houston had been at rehearsals for the show on Thursday, coaching singers Brandy and Monica, according to a person who was at the event but was not authorised to speak publicly about it. The person said Houston looked disheveled, was sweating profusely and liquor and cigarettes could be smelled on her breath. Two days ago, she performed at a pre-Grammy party with singer Kelly Price. Rosen said police received an emergency call from hotel security about Houston at 3:43 pm Saturday, and paramedics were already at the hotel because of a Grammy party. Paramedics unsuccessfully tried to resuscitate the singer, the lieutenant said. The Reverend Al Sharpton said he would call for a national prayer Sunday morning during a service at Second Baptist Church in Los Angeles. ''The morning of the Grammys, the world should pause and pray for the memory of a gifted songbird,'' Sharpton said in a written statement. At her peak, Houston was the golden girl of the music industry. From the middle 1980s to the late 1990s, she was one of the world's best-selling artists. She wowed audiences with effortless, powerful, and peerless vocals that were rooted in the black church but made palatable to the masses with a pop sheen. Her success carried her beyond music to movies, where she starred in hits like The Bodyguard and Waiting to Exhale. She had the perfect voice, and the perfect image: a gorgeous singer who had sex appeal but was never overtly sexual, who maintained perfect poise. She influenced a generation of younger singers, from Christina Aguilera to Mariah Carey, who when she first came out sounded so much like Houston that many thought it was Houston. But by the end of her career, Houston became a stunning cautionary tale of the toll of drug use. Her album sales plummeted and the hits stopped coming; her once serene image was shattered by a wild demeanor and bizarre public appearances. She confessed to abusing cocaine, marijuana and pills, and her once pristine voice became raspy and hoarse, unable to hit the high notes as she had during her prime. "The biggest devil is me. I'm either my best friend or my worst enemy," Houston told ABC's Diane Sawyer in an infamous 2002 interview with then-husband Brown by her side. It was a tragic fall for a superstar who was one of the top-selling artists in pop music history, with more than 55 million records sold in the United States alone. She seemed to be born into greatness. She was the daughter of gospel singer Cissy Houston, the cousin of 1960s pop diva Dionne Warwick and the goddaughter of Aretha Franklin. Houston first started singing in the church as a child. In her teens, she sang backup for Chaka Khan, Jermaine Jackson and others, in addition to modeling. It was around that time when music mogul Clive Davis first heard Houston perform. "The time that I first saw her singing in her mother's act in a club ... it was such a stunning impact," Davis told Good Morning America. "To hear this young girl breathe such fire into this song. I mean, it really sent the proverbial tingles up my spine," he added. It was a tragic fall for a superstar who was one of the top-selling artists in pop music history, with more than 55 million records sold in the United States alone. She seemed to be born into greatness. She was the daughter of gospel singer Cissy Houston, the cousin of 1960s pop diva Dionne Warwick and the goddaughter of Aretha Franklin. Houston first started singing in the church as a child. In her teens, she sang backup for Chaka Khan, Jermaine Jackson and others, in addition to modeling. It was around that time when music mogul Clive Davis first heard Houston perform. "The time that I first saw her singing in her mother's act in a club ... it was such a stunning impact," Davis told Good Morning America. "To hear this young girl breathe such fire into this song. I mean, it really sent the proverbial tingles up my spine," he added. Her decision not to follow the more soulful inflections of singers like Franklin drew criticism by some who saw her as playing down her black roots to go pop and reach white audiences. The criticism would become a constant refrain through much of her career. She was even booed during the Soul Train Awards in 1989. "Sometimes it gets down to that, you know?" she told Katie Couric in 1996. "You're not black enough for them. I don't know. You're not R&B enough. You're very pop. The white audience has taken you away from them." Some saw her 1992 marriage to former New Edition member and soul crooner Bobby Brown as an attempt to refute those critics. It seemed to be an odd union; she was seen as pop's pure princess while he had a bad-boy image, and already had children of his own. (The couple had a daughter, Bobbi Kristina, in 1993.) Over the years, he would be arrested several times, on charges ranging from DUI to failure to pay child support. But Houston said their true personalities were not as far apart as people may have believed. "When you love, you love. I mean, do you stop loving somebody because you have different images? You know, Bobby and I basically come from the same place," she told Rolling Stone in 1993. "You see somebody, and you deal with their image, that's their image. It's part of them, it's not the whole picture. I am not always in a sequined gown. I am nobody's angel. I can get down and dirty. I can get raunchy." It would take several years, however, for the public to see that side of Houston. Her moving 1991 rendition of "The Star Spangled Banner" at the Super Bowl, amid the first Gulf War, set a new standard and once again reaffirmed her as America's sweetheart. In 1992, she became a star in the acting world with The Bodyguard. Despite mixed reviews, the story of a singer (Houston) guarded by a former Secret Service agent (Kevin Costner) was an international success. It also gave her perhaps her most memorable hit: a searing, stunning rendition of Dolly Parton's I Will Always Love You, which sat atop the charts for weeks. It was Grammy's record of the year and best female pop vocal, and the Bodyguard soundtrack was named album of the year. She returned to the big screen in 1995-96 with Waiting to Exhale and The Preacher's Wife. Both spawned soundtrack albums, and another hit studio album, My Love Is Your Love, in 1998, brought her a Grammy for best female R&B vocal for the cut It's Not Right But It's Okay. But during these career and personal highs, Houston was using drugs. In an interview with Oprah Winfrey in 2010, she said by the time The Preacher's Wife was released, "(doing drugs) was an everyday thing. ... I would do my work, but after I did my work, for a whole year or two, it was every day. ... I wasn't happy by that point in time. I was losing myself." In the interview, Houston blamed her rocky marriage to Brown, which included a charge of domestic abuse against Brown in 1993. They divorced in 2007. Houston would go to rehab twice before she would declare herself drug-free to Winfrey in 2010. But in the interim, there were missed concert dates, a stop at an airport due to drugs, and public meltdowns. She returned to the big screen in 1995-96 with Waiting to Exhale and The Preacher's Wife. Both spawned soundtrack albums, and another hit studio album, My Love Is Your Love, in 1998, brought her a Grammy for best female R&B vocal for the cut It's Not Right But It's Okay. But during these career and personal highs, Houston was using drugs. In an interview with Oprah Winfrey in 2010, she said by the time The Preacher's Wife was released, "(doing drugs) was an everyday thing. ... I would do my work, but after I did my work, for a whole year or two, it was every day. ... I wasn't happy by that point in time. I was losing myself." In the interview, Houston blamed her rocky marriage to Brown, which included a charge of domestic abuse against Brown in 1993. They divorced in 2007. Houston would go to rehab twice before she would declare herself drug-free to Winfrey in 2010. But in the interim, there were missed concert dates, a stop at an airport due to drugs, and public meltdowns. Whitney Houston bows after performing I Didn't Know My Own Strength at the 2009 American Music Awards: DEATH AT 48: Pop music Whitney Houston has died. http://www.stuff.co.nz/entertainment/celebrities/6405126/Whitney-Houston-dies

Christchurch is still having earthquakes. They had another big one 2 days before Christmas. This one has done further damage to the Cathedral and city.

Yes it is sad that he was soon to be getting married.

In December the investigations confirmed that the crash was caused by a worker pulling on the cable attached to the helicopter. This was more of a freak accident than a disaster as there were no deaths.

Sunday's hot air balloon crash is said to be New Zealand's worst aviatian disaster since Erebus. Also in New Zealand, there have been a couple of occasions when a helicopter and a light plane collided in mid air. Both collisions resulted in the deaths of the pilots. One collision happened in Auckland and the other one happened in my hometown Paraparaumu.

My friend will feel relieved that her grandparents weren't in the balloon and I'm sure they will also feel relieved. It was mentioned by someone from another forum I'm on that a friend of hers was in Carterton at the time of the crash and the friend had seen the balloon come down.

Possibly, but I'm not too sure. I think they're still investigating it.

Yeah, talk about lousy timing for his family and friends to start receiving wedding invites. The timing couldn't get much worse.

We were going to go on a hot air balloon ride many years ago, but we didn't go on it after all and we will never go on one now because this tragedy has put us off it for life.

Crash pilot planned to marry: Friends and family of the pilot who died in yesterday's balloon crash will this week start to receive invitations to his dream wedding. Balloon pilot Lance Robert Hopping, 50, and the 10 passengers he took up yesterday for a dawn balloon trip over the Wairarapa all died when the Early Morning Balloons flight hit powerlines and burst into flames. Hopping was to marry long-time partner Nina Jane Kelynack at Easter weekend. "The invitations are in the mail now, they were posted yesterday. We were all looking forward to a big reunion," said Hopping's cousin, Robert Clyde. Friends have nothing but praise for the safety conscious pilot, and sympathy for Nina. Hopping's father Robert - better known as Buster - said everyone in the family was in shock. "We are coping, but we are a bit of a zombie house at the moment." Today Clyde, his wife Rose and their son Daniel will head to Carterton to be with family. Other family members are on their way from Australia. Clyde said his cousin had been excited about his upcoming marriage to Nina. "Lance rung me a few weeks ago to say to expect an invitation, and that he hoped we could make it for the wedding." Hopping has two children - Henare and Hayley - from a previous marriage, and two grandchildren. Photographer Geoff Walker, who was following Hopping on the ground when disaster struck, said his friend was a "brilliant guy." "He started out as a freezing worker and got himself to be a helicopter pilot - that's pretty amazing. He just loved ballooning and taking people up to share the experience." In an interview with Fairfax Media earlier this year, Hopping, a truancy officer, said: "There is a unique appeal about ballooning. It's something that people think they can imagine, but never really get to grips with until they've been and done it." Clyde said he had attended Hopping's 50th birthday last year at The Shed, a motorcycle club where Hopping was a long-time and "highly regarded" member. The Shed is next to Carterton's Paua Factory, from where the balloon left yesterday. "That's when my stomach dropped [when I heard news of the crash] because that's where he flew from most of the time. "I knew straight away, I just had that feeling," Clyde said. "I got hold of Lance's cellphone and of course there was no answer. "I rung The Shed and his voicemail was on its answerphone. I had my little cry." As a teenager Clyde lived with Hopping and his adoptive parents, Val and Buster. Clyde said he was left with fond memories of flying with his cousin, who was a popular person and "had a whole lot going for him." "Lance was a genuine guy, he loved his ballooning and he was a helicopter pilot as well. "I went up with him just a few years ago and, shivers, he was very strict, very safety conscious. He checked everything - gave us all the safety rules. "His first passion was actually chopper flying. He used to land at the school in King St and we'd just climb aboard. We went over the Tararuas, it was awesome." Former Carterton mayor Gary McPhee, also a member of the motorbike club, described Hopping as a "great guy." "He was a bloody good guy. He was community-minded and involved in trying to promote things in the area." In 1998 Hopping crash-landed his balloon when flying with businessman Sir Robert Jones and seven other passengers. "My God, we hit the earth at speed," Jones said at the time. "We smashed down and bounced and bounced again and rolled over, it was pretty bloody frightening." http://www.stuff.co.nz/national/6227354/Crash-pilot-planned-to-marry http://www.nzherald.co.nz/video/news/video.cfm?c_id=1501138&gal_cid=1501138&gallery_id=123328 Aerial footage of the balloon crash site. The balloon pilot would have been getting married at Easter. This week his family and friends will receive invitations to a wedding which will not be happening.

Hot air balloon crash near Carterton kills 11: Grieving family and friends of the Carterton balloon crash victims have left flowers at the edge of the police cordon at the scene of the accident. Eleven people died this morning in a fiery hot air balloon crash north of the Wairarapa town, in what police have described as a national tragedy. On one side of a police cordon investigators sifted the ashes in a bid to learn what went wrong, on the other tearful people arrived at Somerset Road carrying flowers. With tears pouring from eyes covered by dark sunglasses, a man and two women placed flowers near the road sign, followed soon after by a woman on her own. Police said the balloon was preparing to land in a paddock after a 45-minute flight when it hit wires on a power line, causing sparking in the basket carrying the pilot and passengers. "At this point, two of the 11 people on board, believed to be a male and a female, appear to have jumped from the basket,'' Wairarapa police area commander Brent Register said. The balloon then made a sharp ascent, a fire ignited and the balloon plummeted into a paddock on Somerset Road, near State Highway 2. Hopping and five couples from the Wellington region have been confirmed dead by police, who have not yet released any names. "This is a huge national, significant event. It's a tragedy as bad as tragedies get. Yes, it will affect our community here in the Wairarapa,'' Register said. He promised a thorough investigation. "We are continuing to work with our partner agencies, which include the Coroner's office, the Civil Aviation Authority, the Transport Accident and Investigation Commission, Dept of Labour, NZ Fire Service and Victim Support." "We are still in the process of identifying each of the 11 people and notifying their next of kin and this process will take some time, given it requires the skills of expert Disaster Victim Identification (DVI) staff." Register said a police family liaison team had spent the day working with some of the families of those killed, providing them with support. "Our thoughts are with them all as they come to terms with what has occurred this morning." One couple who died in the accident received the ride as a Christmas gift from their children. A witness who lives on Somerset Road said she saw the balloon catch fire and ran to help. "The two women, sisters, were on the ground in the car following the balloon with their parents in it. http://www.stuff.co.nz/national/6224922/Hot-air-balloon-crash-near-Carterton-kills-11 When this came on the news, it caused me to think about my friend's grandparents as they live in the area where the hot air balloon crashed.