About 1,500 people packed into a Langley, B.C., church yesterday to say goodbye to Shannon and Jemma Knackstedt, a mother and daughter who died after a hot-air balloon burst into flames.
August Knackstedt, his left hand bandaged, sat in the front pew of the Christian Life Assembly church, his daughter Justine by his side.
A photo of Jemma and Shannon smiling was placed on a small table in front of them, next to two white roses, and two lit pillar candles. Both father and daughter wiped tears as songs were dedicated to the two women, and Rev. Anna Christie remembered her two friends.
"She had a joy and zest for life that was unmatched by anyone," Ms. Christie said about her friend, Shannon. "She lived 2½ lifetimes in her 50 short years."
Ms. Christie, who lived next to the Knackstedts in Langley for several years, described Shannon as the centre of the family, who "personified kindness, goodness and generosity."
Jemma, 21, was just like her mother, with a booming voice and endless hugs, the minister said. "She was outspoken and loved a good argument, but wouldn't leave unless everyone was happy."
The Knackstedt family is coping with the loss of Jemma and Shannon, but are still in shock, Ms. Christie said after the service.
Just two weeks ago, the tight-knit family were celebrating Shannon's 50th birthday with a hot-air balloon ride - a surprise gift from her girls.
All four of them hopped into the basket, and got ready to take off from the field at Hazelmere RV park in Surrey, along with the other passengers and pilot Steven Pennock.
But as Mr. Pennock turned on the propane tanks, there was a jarring pop and an explosion of flames.
People began spilling out of the basket, which was no more than a few inches off the ground. Then, with the lightened load, the balloon shot up. August and Justine managed to scramble out, but Jemma and Shannon remained.
The balloon's tether snapped, and the basket - carrying the Knackstedts, as well as Diana Rutledge and Anniliese Birr - soared up to five stories high.
Ms. Rutledge put her arms around Ms. Birr, a German tourist she had never met, and flung both of them out of the basket in a head-first freefall.
Jemma and Shannon, however, did not escape, as all the air leached out of the balloon, and the burning basket plummeted back to earth with a thud, the flames gutting three mobile homes.
Mr. Pennock, pilot and owner of ballooning company Fantasy Balloon Charters, did not attend yesterday's service, but released a statement expressing his condolences.
"My heart is particularly with the Knackstedt family," he said. "As I have shared with them, words cannot express the depth of my sorrow."
Mr. Pennock, who suffered from first- and second-degree burns in the accident, added that he is "vigilantly supporting" the Transportation Safety Board's efforts to find the answer to what caused the fire aboard the balloon.
The Knackstedt's family and friends may have to wait a year for any definitive conclusions, said Bill Yearwood, investigator with the TSB. That's when the board will publish a report with its findings, he said.
But at this point, it looks as if a fuel leak was to blame, Mr. Yearwood said.
"We know there was a fuel leak, which is evident from the immense fire that was seen in the [video]footage," he said.
However, it is not yet clear whether the leak was the result of pilot error or equipment malfunction, he said. TSB investigators are analyzing the charred equipment from the accident, and if they find information that poses an immediate risk to the public, the board will issue a safety recommendation before the report is published, he said.
Mr. Pennock's ballooning record came under scrutiny after details surfaced about a perilous flight in 1985 that endangered the lives of his passengers.
During that Sept. 28 ride, the gondola of the balloon dipped into Elk Lake on Vancouver Island. A 12-year-old boy grabbed a rope hanging from the balloon and was suspended in the air, 20 metres above the ground. Mr. Pennock was fined a total of $750 on two counts of reckless endangerment. However, his 1987 conviction on both counts was overturned on appeal.
Since the accident in August, Fantasy Balloon Charters has suspended all flights.