Richard Heene and his 6 year old son have apparently been working on a project to make a homemade hot air balloon that looks like a flying saucer. The son crawled in and unhooked the line. Air traffic has been halted and several National Guard and other helicopters are in pursuit. There is no clear consensus on how to rescue him at present. Live video stream can be found here.
Get Flight Wisdom by email Practical answers on air travel, delays, cancellations, refunds, baggage and more
UPDATE 3: Confirmed that boy is not on balloon. No indication yet whether he fell out en route or never boarded. Search & Rescue mission underway.
UPDATE 2: After allowing them to stay close during pursuit, National Guard has offered all aircraft 2 miles away. This may be because a Blackhawk is in the area, but my gut fears bad news that they don’t want to be seen. Perhaps the craft is empty?
UPDATE 1: The Balloon has landed north of Denver, Colorado, 15 miles east of Denver International Airport and emergency vehicles have converged.
