Inquest date set for NT ballooning victim

An inquest date has been set to investigate how a woman died while hot air ballooning in Alice Springs.

Sydney woman Stephanie Bernoth, 35, was preparing to climb into a hot-air balloon basket in Alice Springs when her scarf was sucked through the mesh guard of a cold-air inflation fan in July 2013.

She died a week later in hospital from critical neck injuries.

Pilot Jason Livingston, who had bought Outback Ballooning just days before the incident, was charged with manslaughter but prosecutors dropped the case in March this year.

The inquest will be held in Alice Springs from November 16-18.