Young Boy Trapped in Homemade Aircraft

Nyani Ngabu

Nyani Ngabu

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May 15, 2006
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A 6-year-old boy somehow climbed inside a homemade, helium-powered aircraft in Ft. Collins, Colorado -- and now the craft is careening out of control with the boy stuck inside.

The Larimer County Sheriff's Office says the 6-year-old boy's family was building an experimental aircraft which had a large helium balloon attached to it at their home on Fossil Ridge Road in Fort Collins, this according KDVR in Denver.

The family told officials the boy got onto the aircraft and was able to untie the rope that held the aircraft in place. The device -- which is 20 feet long -- has the potential to rise to 10,000 feet.

The Larimer County Emergency Manager says, "The structure at the bottom of the craft (where the boy is stuck) is made of extremely thin [COLOR=#29a256! important][COLOR=#29a256! important]plywood[/COLOR][/COLOR] and won't withstand any kind of crash at all."

Story developing...

Read more: http://www.tmz.com/2009/10/15/six-year-old-boy-trapped-in-weather-balloon/#ixzz0U27qsQQh

Source: TMZ
 
Julius said:
A 6-year-old boy somehow climbed inside a homemade, helium-powered aircraft in Ft. Collins, Colorado -- and now the craft is careening out of control with the boy stuck inside.

The Larimer County Sheriff's Office says the 6-year-old boy's family was building an experimental aircraft which had a large helium balloon attached to it at their home on Fossil Ridge Road in Fort Collins, this according KDVR in Denver.

The family told officials the boy got onto the aircraft and was able to untie the rope that held the aircraft in place. The device -- which is 20 feet long -- has the potential to rise to 10,000 feet.

The Larimer County Emergency Manager says, "The structure at the bottom of the craft (where the boy is stuck) is made of extremely thin [COLOR=#29a256! important][COLOR=#29a256! important]plywood[/COLOR][/COLOR] and won't withstand any kind of crash at all."

Story developing...

Read more: http://www.tmz.com/2009/10/15/six-year-old-boy-trapped-in-weather-balloon/#ixzz0U27qsQQh

Source: TMZ
Click to expand...
They have no idea if the boy is still in that ballon. Inasemekana alidondoka kabla ya hilo ballon halija-take off.
 
Boy said to have floated off in balloon found safe


AP – Six-year-old Falcon Heene slides off the roof on on to the windshield of his family's van outside their …


By P. SOLOMON BANDA and IVAN MORENO, Associated Press Writers P. Solomon Banda And Ivan Moreno, Associated Press Writers – 1 min ago
FORT COLLINS, Colo. – A 6-year-old boy was found hiding in a cardboard box in his family's garage Thursday after being feared aboard a homemade helium balloon that hurtled 50 miles through the sky on live television.
The discovery marked a bizarre end to a saga that started when the giant silvery balloon floated away from the family's yard Thursday morning, sparking a frantic rescue operation that involved military helicopters and briefly halted some departures from Denver International Airport.
Then, more than two hours after the balloon gently touched down in a field with no sign of the boy, Sheriff Jim Alderden turned to reporters during a news conference, gave a thumbs up and said 6-year-old Falcon Heene was "at the house."
"Apparently he's been there the whole time," he said.
The boy's father, Richard Heene, said the family was tinkering with the balloon Thursday and that he scolded Falcon for getting inside a compartment on the craft.
He said Falcon's brother saw him inside the compartment and that's why they thought he was aboard the balloon when it launched.
But the boy had fled to the garage, climbing a pole into the rafters and hiding in a cardboard box, at some point after the scolding. He was never in the balloon during its two-hour, 50-mile journey through two counties. "I yelled at him. I'm really sorry I yelled at him," Heene said, choking up and hugging Falcon to him during a news conference.
"I was in the attic and he scared me because he yelled at me," Falcon said. "That's why I went in the attic."
Heene said the balloon wasn't tethered properly, and "it was a mishap. I'm not going to lay blame on anybody."
The boys' parents are storm chasers who appeared twice in the ABC reality show "Wife Swap," most recently in March.
Richard Heene adamantly denied the notion that the whole thing was a big publicity stunt. "That's horrible after the crap we just went through. No."
The sheriff said he would meet with investigators on Friday to see if the case warranted further investigation.
"As this point there's no indication that this was a hoax," Alderden said.
The flying saucer-like craft tipped precariously at times before gliding to the ground in a dirt field 12 miles northeast of Denver International Airport. Sheriff's deputies secured it to keep it in place, tossing shovelfuls of dirt on one edge.
With the child nowhere in sight, investigators searched the balloon's path. Several people reported seeing something fall from the craft while it was in the air, and yellow crime-scene tape was placed around the home.
Neighbor Bob Licko, 65, said he was leaving home when he heard commotion in the backyard of the family. He said he saw two boys on the roof with a camera, commenting about their brother.
"One of the boys yelled to me that his brother was way up in the air," Licko said.

Licko said the boy's mother seemed distraught and that the boy's father was running around the house.
Licko said he didn't believe any hoax was involved.
"Based on what I witnessed in the backyard in the morning with the parents, I don't think that's the case," Licko said. "They're better actors than I thought they were if that's the case."
In a 2007 interview with The Denver Post, Richard Heene described becoming a storm chaser after a tornado ripped off a roof where he was working as a contractor and said he once flew a plane around Hurricane Wilma's perimeter in 2005.
Pursuing bad weather was a family activity with the children coming along as the father sought evidence to prove his theory that rotating storms create their own magnetic fields.
Although Richard said he has no specialized training, they had a computer tracking system in their car and a special motorcycle.
While the balloon was airborne, Colorado Army National Guard sent a UH-58 Kiowa helicopter and a Black Hawk UH-60 to try to rescue the boy, possibly by lowering someone to the balloon. They also were working with pilots of ultralight aircraft on the possibility of putting weights on the homemade craft to weigh it down.
Alderden said he didn't have an estimate of how much the search cost. Capt. Troy Brown said the Black Hawk helicopter was in the air for nearly three hours, and the Kiowa helicopter was airborne for about one hour. The Black Hawk costs about $4,600 an hour to fly, and the Kiowa is $700 an hour, Brown said.
Col. Chris Petty, one of the pilots aboard the Black Hawk, said he was thrilled the boy was OK.
Asked what he would say to the 6-year-old if he saw him, Petty said: "I'm really glad you're alive, I'm very thankful, but I'd sure like to know the rest of the story."
The episode led to a brief shutdown of northbound departures from one of the nation's busiest airports between 1 p.m. and 1:15 p.m. MDT, said Lyle Burrington, the National Air Traffic Controllers Association representative at the Federal Aviation Administration's radar center in Longmont, Colo. The balloon was about 15 miles northwest of the airport at that time.
Before the departure shutdown, controllers had been routing planes away from the balloon, Burrington said.
The Poudre School District in Fort Collins, where the boys attend, did not have classes for elementary schools Thursday because of a teacher work day.
Jason Humbert said he was in a field checking on an oil well when he found himself surrounded by police who had been chasing the balloon.
"It looked like an alien spaceship you see in those old, old movies. You know, those black-and-white ones. It came down softly," Humbert said. "I asked a police officer if the boy was OK and he said there was no one in it."
___ Associated Press writers Judith Kohler, Dan Elliott, Sandy Shore and Colleen Slevin in Denver contributed to this report.
 
Julius said:
A 6-year-old boy somehow climbed inside a homemade, helium-powered aircraft in Ft. Collins, Colorado -- and now the craft is careening out of control with the boy stuck inside.

The Larimer County Sheriff's Office says the 6-year-old boy's family was building an experimental aircraft which had a large helium balloon attached to it at their home on Fossil Ridge Road in Fort Collins, this according KDVR in Denver.

The family told officials the boy got onto the aircraft and was able to untie the rope that held the aircraft in place. The device -- which is 20 feet long -- has the potential to rise to 10,000 feet.

The Larimer County Emergency Manager says, "The structure at the bottom of the craft (where the boy is stuck) is made of extremely thin [COLOR=#29a256! important][COLOR=#29a256! important]plywood[/COLOR][/COLOR] and won't withstand any kind of crash at all."

Story developing...

Read more: http://www.tmz.com/2009/10/15/six-year-old-boy-trapped-in-weather-balloon/#ixzz0U27qsQQh

Source: TMZ
Click to expand...
....i guess by now imeshafahamika kuwa mtoto hakuwa in the baloon but was hiding in the attic?....
 
this thread has nothing to do with our struggle to alleviate poverty in TZ
 
Balloon boy parents get jail time, tough probation.


AP – Richard and Mayumi Heene arrive at court for sentencing on Wednesday, Dec. 23, 2009, in Fort Collins, …




By P. SOLOMON BANDA, Associated Press Writer P. Solomon Banda, Associated Press Writer – 50 mins ago

FORT COLLINS, Colo. – The parents who carried out the balloon boy hoax were sentenced to jail Wednesday and given strict probation conditions that forbid them from earning any money from the spectacle for four years.

Richard Heene was sentenced to 90 days in jail, including 60 days of work release that will let him pursue his job as a construction contractor while serving his time. His wife, Mayumi, was sentenced to 20 days in jail.

Richard Heene choked back tears as he said he was sorry, especially to the rescue workers who chased down false reports that his 6-year-old son had floated away in a balloon on Oct. 15. It was a stunt designed to generate attention for a reality TV show.

"I do want to reiterate that I'm very, very sorry. And I want to apologize to all the rescue workers out there, and the people that got involved in the community. That's it," said Richard Heene, whose wife did not speak at the hearing.

Larimer County District Judge Stephen Schapanski then ordered Heene to begin a 30-day jail term on Jan. 11, delaying the start of the sentence for two weeks so he can spend the holidays with his family. Schapanski allowed Heene to serve the remaining 60 days of his jail term under work release, meaning he can work during the day but spend his nights in jail.

The Heenes' probation will be revoked if they are found to be profiting from any book, TV, movie or other deals related to the stunt.

"This, in simple terms, was an elaborate hoax that was devised by Mr. and Mrs. Heene," the judge said.

The Heenes pleaded guilty to charges that they carried out the balloon hoax, with deals that called for up to 90 days in jail for the husband and 60 days for his wife.
Schapanski ordered Mayumi Heene to serve 20 days in jail after her husband completes his sentence. Her time served is flexible — she can report to jail on 10 weekends, for example — so the children are cared for, the judge said.

Prosecutors asked for the maximum sentence for the husband, saying that a message needs to be sent to promoters who attempt to carry out hoaxes to generate publicity. Chief Deputy District Attorney Andrew Lewis also asked for full restitution to reimburse authorities for the cost of investigating the hoax — an amount that could exceed $50,000.

"People around the world were watching this unfold," he said. "Mr. Heene wasted a lot of manpower and a lot of money in wanting to get himself some publicity."
He added, "Jay Leno said it best when he said, 'This is copycat game.' And people will copycat this event. (The Heenes) need to go to jail so people don't do that."

He portrayed the Heenes as growing increasingly desperate as their pitches for a reality TV show kept getting turned down by networks — and the family fell deeper into a financial hole. Lewis said the Heenes set in motion the balloon hoax in early October as a way to jumpstart the effort and get some attention.

They chose Oct. 15 because the weather was cooperating and the kids were home for school with parent-teacher conferences, allowing the Heenes to report that 6-year-old Falcon had floated away, Lewis said.

Once the parents were brought in for questioning, Richard Heene feigned sleep during the lie-detector test, claiming it was some sort of diabetic episode, Lewis said.

David Lane, Richard Heene's attorney, pleaded for leniency with the judge and said that the couple "have learned a lesson they will never forget for the rest of their lives." He also said that if someone has to go to jail, let it be Richard Heene and not his wife.

"That is his plea. That would be something of a Christmas miracle if that can occur," he said.
 
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