FORT COLLINS, Colo. -- A 6-year-old boy is floating over northeastern Colorado in a homebuilt balloon and authorities are racing to try and rescue him.
The balloon, in the shape of a flying saucer is covered in foil and filled with helium. The craft's dimensions are 20-feet across and 5-feet high. It has a compartment for a passenger underneath. It lifted the boy into the air near Fort Collins Thursday morning after the balloon became unhooked at the boy's home.
"We were sitting eating, out looking where they normally shoot off hot air balloons. My husband said he saw something. It went over our rooftop. Then we saw the big round balloonish thing, it was spinning," said neighbor Lisa Eklund.
The father and son had apparently been working on the aircraft for some time..
Airtracker 7 located the craft at 12:35 p.m. at about 8,000 feet in Weld County. It appeared to be slightly tilted. The altitude of the balloon was fluctuating between 7,500 and 8,500 feet.
Skies in the area are partly cloudy and southwest wind speeds are 15 to 20 miles per hour.
"It is believed the device could rise to 10,000 feet," said Eloise Campanella, Larimer County Sheriff's Office spokeswoman.
"The structure at the bottom of the balloon that the boy is in is made of extremely thin plywood and won't withstand any kind of a crash at all," said Erik Nilsson, Larimer County Emergency Manager.
Deputies from Larimer and Weld counties are tracking the balloon as it drifts. Experts said it could remain airborne for up to 12 hours.
FAA spokesman Mike Fergus said the agency has been notified and it was unclear whether traffic controllers had picked it up on radar.
The balloon may drift into air traffic control corridors used by Denver International Airport, based on its current location and direction.
Fox News is reporting on it live right now. So go watch it on TV
Anways, this is nuts!!
Who knows if the Namco Portable will ever become a reality?
That's what it's looking like, yes. They were on one of those morning fluff news shows (The Today Show or whatever) and the kid said that his father told him to hide in the attic while the balloon flew away. The father said, "Don't you mean you fell out and I told you to go to the attic after the balloon flew away?" and he responded, "Uh, yes."
The father was one of the eccentrics on Wife Swap and as such is no stranger to doing outrageous things for a little extra time in the spotlight. I hope he's handed the bill for the rescue effort. In fact, people should feel a little ashamed of themselves for falling for this ruse. How's a balloon that size going to completely conceal a six year old child?
ArugulaZ wrote:How's a balloon that size going to completely conceal a six year old child?
To be fair, it was impossible to tell how big the balloon was when it was in the air. It wasn't until it landed that we could see how big it was. After that, anyone that watches Mythbusters could tell you it couldn't float.
The worst part is that they're having the idiots on TV, getting exactly what they wanted.
Yeah...you gotta love the corporate media...as long as it scores good ratings (and as a result, happening profits from the ads during the program), they'll put it up.
The answer to 1984 is 1776!
"One of the penalties for refusing to participate in politics is that you end up being governed by your inferiors." - Plato
