Pilot had been arrested for DWI in 2000
The pilot of a hot air balloon that crashed in Texas and killed all 16 people aboard was arrested in Missouri in 2000 for driving while intoxicated, and the Better Business Bureau warned consumers about doing business with a balloon touring company he used to operate in that state.
Authorities haven't publicly named anyone killed in the worst such disaster in US history, saying it could take a while to identify the bodies. But Alfred "Skip" Nichols, 49, was identified as the pilot by his friend and roommate Alan Lirette, who said that Nichols was a good pilot.
"That's the only thing I want to talk about, is that he's a great pilot," Lirette said from a house he shared with Nichols in Kyle, Texas. "There's going to be all kinds of reports out in the press and I want a positive image there too."
