BERNALILLO, N.M. — A Butler man who frequently participated in the Thurston Classic Hot Air Balloon Event in Meadville died Friday when the experimental hot air balloon he was flying caught fire and hit some power lines.

Steve Lachendro was aloft in the Wings of Wind balloon at the Albuquerque International Balloon Fiesta when authorities and witnesses said they saw the gondola catch fire. The balloon appeared to land and then take off again, hitting the power lines.

Lachendro was found dead at the scene. A second man in the balloon, Keith Sproul of North Brunswick, N.J., was critically injured. Kathie Leyendecker, a spokeswoman for the Albuquer-que International Balloon Fiesta, said she did not know who was piloting the balloon.

Thurston Classic Chairman Ted Watts Sr. of Meadville, a balloonist and longtime friend of Lachendro, said Lachendro was an experienced pilot and will be greatly missed.

“It’s a tragedy, it really is. Steve was a great man,” Watts said. “He was giving and always a very accommodating pilot.”

Watts said the Albuquerque event is one of the largest in the United States and that there is a great deal of air traffic. The number of balloons in the air, coupled with the fact that Lachendro was flying a non-typical balloon — shaped like an inverted pyramid — could have played a factor, he said.

“Weather could also have contributed,” Watts said. “I’ve heard a lot of people say that the wind can pick up with little warning.”

The official cause of the crash, which occurred in Bernalillo, just north of Albuquerque, will be investigated by the National Transportation Safety Board.

“I couldn’t believe it,” said Glenn Vonderahe, a witness. “I saw the balloon and the next thing I knew, there was a lot of fire and smoke. There was total fire under the balloon.”

He first saw the balloon land, then bounce back up and apparently hit some power lines, he said. The balloon was stuck in the lines for a time, and then Vonderahe saw the balloon portion — called the envelope — float away, a burning tank still attached.

“Debris was flying everywhere,” he said. The tank fell harmlessly to the ground, and the drifting envelope was eventually found about 15 miles away.

Witnesses said winds had picked up just before the crash. But Leyendecker said conditions at the field in Albuquerque where the balloons take off were ideal, about 6 to 8 mph.

Lachendro was a father of two sons and a daughter and enjoyed ballooning with friends, said his daughter, Amanda Lachendro.

“I just want everyone to know that he loved what he did,” she said, declining to comment further.