A Polish pilot who spent 52 days in a Dallas hospital is finally headed home.
Pjotr Halas was competing in an international gas balloon race last month with his copilot Krzystotf Zapart when their balloon went down in Kaufman County and burst into flames. The two reunited for the first time in weeks before catching a flight together back to Poland on Wednesday.
Zapart remembers realizing something had gone wrong that day in early October and said he had just moments to make life-or-death decisions.
“We don’t have any different possibility. Just going down,” he said. “We hit the ground.”
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Then, there were flames all around them.
“Last of what I see, I opened my eyes under the balloon, and I see blue and white sparkles, and that was the last one for me,” said Zapart.
Zapart said everything happened fast after that, but one moment in time still stands out.
“I saw Pjotr and asked, ‘Pjotr, are you alive?’” he said.
Zapart and Pjotr Halas were copilots during an international gas balloon race that day before descending over North Texas and crashing near power lines in Kaufman County. Both were taken to the hospital - Halas with extreme burns and broken legs.
The situation wasn’t good. A friend shared a photo with NBC 5 that shows a priest reading Halas his Last Rites in the event he didn’t survive.
The crash happened in the 4300 block of Farm-to-Market Road 741 in Crandall, about 30 minutes east of Downtown Dallas. Gordon Bennett Gas Balloon Race officials confirmed with NBC 5 that Halas and Zapart were the crash victims and part of Poland Team 1.
Some 50 days later, though, Pjotr Halas is recovering. He used a translator to speak with NBC 5 inside his room at Parkland Hospital.
“His heart is just overwhelmed for the care that he received here,” said his translator, Voitek Liczkowski.
Halas is finally reunited with his longtime friend and copilot, Krzystotf Zapart, who returned from Poland to bring him home at the right time.
“He’s going straight to a physical rehab center and so he can get stronger better, and he’s looking forward to spending Christmas with his family back home,” said Liczkowski.
To make the reunion at the hospital a little sweeter, Zapart also brought along the man they’ve called their hero. Good Samaritan Isreal Lopez was in the right place at the right time on the day of the crash and helped pull Halas and Zapart from the flames.
“That day was a lot of adrenaline and ‘let’s help them,’ and today is just a celebration, I mean, this is great,” Lopez said.
The three men are amazed, looking back at the rescue video.
“After that, there was another explosion and seconds away, and he probably would not have made it,” said Liczkowski.
Halas is still a little battered but ready to get on with life. He said he won’t forget the care of his nurses and the kindness of the local Polish community, who brought Polish pastries for a bit of a taste of home during his extended stay. As for whether he plans to pilot a gas balloon again, he said the answer is yes. But first, he will complete the long-awaited journey back home.
Zapart tells NBC 5 he heard a series of gunshots prior to the crash, which he said prompted their quick descent. We’ve contacted Crandall Police to confirm whether this claim is now a part of the official investigation. We are waiting to hear back.
