The Federal Aviation Administration doesn't require balloon pilots to take drug tests or undergo medical evaluations like other pilots. It relies on an honor system that the pilot of the doomed balloon, Alfred "Skip" Nichols, foiled. Nichols obtained his balloon pilot's license in Missouri in 1996. More than three years before the deadly crash, Detroit-based FAA safety inspector Wayne Phillips, a licensed balloon pilot, proposed increasing regulations for balloon operators that included drug tests for pilots. Robert Sumwalt, who chaired the NTSB safety hearing, said the FAA's lack of oversight speaks for itself.

Source: New Zealand Herald March 11, 2017 16:18 UTC