Six-year-old Falcon Heene of Fort Collins, Colorado, chose an unusual method to run away from home. He stole the family’s experimental balloon-powered weather aircraft. Richard Heene, the boy’s father, was working with former TV cameraman Scott Stevens to form The Science Detectives, a weather science research team. The craft, a 20 feet by 5 feet foil-topped helium balloon, supports a small basket. The boy apparently climbed inside the basket, untied the craft, and took off for the stratosphere. Unfortunately, once the balloon landed, police discovered that there was no boy inside.
Now the hunt is on to find out just where, if anywhere, the boy might be. Obviously everyone hopes they find him alive somewhere and that maybe he got out of the balloon before it took off, but given how the thing was whipping around in midair, and given that the door to the basket was open when they recovered the craft, that’s a pretty slim possibility. Most daredevils meet a pretty nasty end eventually.
Image: CNN
EDIT, 10/15/2009 6:16PM:
Balloon Boy is alive. He was at home the whole time. Rumor has it the whole thing was a hoax to drum up attention for the Heene family, who have been on ABC’s Wife Swap program several times. I’m glad the boy is safe, but this whole thing stinks like a publicity stunt.
Tags: Fort Collins, Colorado, 6-year-old steals balloon, runaway balloon, experimental aircraft, Falcon Heene, Richard Heene, Scott Stevens, The Science Detectives