Yesterday morning photographer Geoff Walker, who had worked with pilot Lance Hopping for about four years, told the inquest he did not see the pilot smoking on the morning of the balloon crash - as two witnesses had stated.
"I did not see Lance smoking on the balcony that morning," Mr Walker said. "I did not smell any tobacco that morning. I would have noticed and smelt that. It was a still morning."
"I have never seen Lance smoke before takeoff."
Carterton man Bruce Miller spoke out in support of Mr Hopping.
"I've been a long-time friend of Lance Hopping. I used to call him Hoppy," he told the inquest.
"I know him very well, we used to do a lot of things together on a social level. He did not smoke cigarettes and he did not smoke pot before flying."
The pair would often take motorbike trips together.
"I know him to be very responsible and safety conscious in general when it came down to flying and ballooning. In all those years, I've never seen Hoppy use large amounts of alcohol or drugs," Mr Miller said.
When asked by Coroner Peter Ryan about the frequency of Mr Hopping's cannabis use, Mr Miller classed him as a weekly user.
He said he "knew Hoppy used cannabis on a social level".
"... he would not have any alcohol or drugs if he had to ride a bike the next day or fly a balloon."
Forensic pathologist Fintan Garavan and ESR scientist Helen Poulsen said samples taken from Mr Hopping more than three days after the crash found 2 micrograms per litre of blood of the active ingredient in cannabis, THC, in his system.
Dr Poulsen said under normal conditions, that could indicate a cannabis cigarette was smoked up to five hours before death. But if smoked regularly, cannabis could accumulate in the body tissue.
In Mr Hopping's case, some decomposition of the sample and mixing of other bodily fluids could have increased or decreased the level of THC found.
"If he was a frequent user, then there would be a possibility that THC stored in the body could have increased the level found," she said. Dr Garavan said once-a-week use was sufficient to build up THC levels in the body. Once a user stopped smoking, the amount of THC could build up in the blood system as the drug, which had accumulated in the body tissue over a long period, was released into the body.
The evidence supported that Mr Hopping was a chronic user, not that he had smoked that morning, Dr Garavan said.
There was also no evidence of cannabis smoke in his lungs, which there would have been if he had smoked that day.
"It's highly unlikely that he smoked that morning."
The inquest, which has been set down for four days, continues.
