The pilot in the hot air balloon crash that killed 16 people in Texas on Saturday used to live in Charleston, according to locals.
Alfred "Skip" Nichols lived by himself on Connell Road, in South Hills, according to a former neighbor, Dave Thomas.
Thomas said Nichols was living in his grandmother's house about 11 or 12 years ago while his grandmother, who was sick, lived elsewhere, possibly in Florida.
Thomas, a bartender at Sam's Uptown Cafe and the Boulevard Tavern in downtown Charleston, said Nichols had a hot air balloon business while he was in Charleston. He was a regular at Sam's, Thomas said.
On Sunday, Thomas was watching television and immediately thought of Nichols when he saw news of the hot air balloon disaster.
"I was like, there's no way that could be Skip," Thomas said. "Sure enough, it was him."
Several local residents confirmed that Nichols used to live in Charleston. Some declined comment or said they didn't know him well enough to comment.
On his Facebook page, Nichols, who was 49 when he died, posted in March 2015 about a show at The Empty Glass bar and, in October 2014, about being a frequent attendee at "Mountain Stage." In another post, a friend quoted him objecting to a lack of national news coverage of the January 2014 water crisis in West Virginia.
The hot air balloon fire took place in a remote area of Texas near Lockhart, 30 miles south of Austin, Saturday morning. Everyone aboard, including Nichols, was killed.
Federal investigators say the hot air balloon hit an electrical wire.
Nichols had a long history of customer complaints against his balloon tour companies in Missouri and Illinois dating back to 1997. Customers reported to the Better Business Bureau's St. Louis office that their rides would get canceled at the last minute and their fees never refunded.
Nichols pleaded guilty to driving while intoxicated in St. Louis County in 1990, then twice in 2002 and again in 2010, according to online court records.
He also was convicted of a drug crime in 2000 and spent about a year-and-a-half in prison before being paroled. He was returned to prison in April 2010, after his parole was revoked because of his drunken driving conviction that year. He was paroled again in January 2012.
His ex-girlfriend, Wendy Bartch, told The Associated Press on Monday that he had been in recovery for at least four years. She said he had been working on mending his relationship with his father, with whom Nichols had had a turbulent relationship because of his drinking.
Bartch said Nichols "did not fly when he wasn't supposed to. Having other people's lives at stake was Skip's primary concern."
Authorities have not publicly named anyone killed in Saturday's crash, saying it could take a while to identify the bodies. But Nichols was identified as the pilot by his friend and roommate, Alan Lirette, who said Nichols was a good pilot.
"That's the only thing I want to talk about, is that he's a great pilot," Lirette said, speaking to the AP 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."
Authorities say the balloon, which was operated by Heart of Texas Hot Air Balloon Rides, hit high-tension power lines before crashing into a pasture Saturday near Lockhart, about 60 miles northeast of San Antonio.
The National Transportation Safety Board is investigating. Board member Robert Sumwalt said the pilot was licensed to fly the balloon.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Reach Erin Beck at erin.beck@wvgazettemail.com, 304-348-5163, Facebook.com/erinbeckwv or follow @erinbeckwv on Twitter.