Phileas Fogg has Nothing on Me

According to Giles Whittell writing for The Times "the skies were cleared over much of Colorado yesterday when a homemade flying saucer broke free of its tether and soared for two hours along the edge of the Rockies as rescuers chased it on the ground and in the air, believing a six-year-old boy was inside.

The US Air Force and the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) were alerted and two helicopters of the Colorado Air National Guard mobilised to chase the balloon.

The FAA drew up plans to pluck it from the sky with hoists such as those designed during the Cold War for the mid-air recovery of returning space capsules. It also considered using a microlight for a mid-air rescue or even ordering Air National Guard helicopters to try to force the balloon down with the downdraft from their rotors.

The balloon’s 40-mile flight was followed so closely by emergency services that they were on the scene within seconds when it finally touched down. A sheriff’s deputy sprinted across a ploughed field and grabbed a tether to prevent it becoming airborne again. Rescue workers were dreading what they would find inside.

They soon had their answer: nothing. For Falcon Heene had been safe at home all along, hiding in a box in the attic over his father’s garage."

It's uncanny, but our chum Falcon has since been approached by Disney to promote their new 3D animated extravaganza 'Up'. I wonder whether that was the motivation behind Mummy buying me my very own helium balloon?



AMK