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6 Year Old Trapped in Parent's Experimental Balloon
- Thread starter BarrettRC8
- Start date
OH man, how'd you post a gif? Mine wouldn't embed right. It just kept giving me the code for it.
Actually I didn't find the early stages so poorly planned or executed. The call to the FAA was to get someone trying to track the balloon so young Falcon wasn't lost. That sounds plausible. The call to the TV station was to get a helo up to follow. I understand that the Sheriff's office does not have standby aircraft available, they knew the TV station did. The call to 911 then came only after they had tried to maintain contact with and get eyes on the balloon. I find all that rather plausible. Just because a guy doesn't become a helpless blubbering idiot on a 911 tape seconds after the launch does not make me that suspicious. Law enforcement was on scene and they bought it up until all the interviews, complete with yakking inconveniently honest Falcon. Normal reaction would be to be embarrassed and crawl into a hole for a couple weeks. Not exploit your family over what would have been negligent parenting.
I don't think an 'average' person is going to have the sense to call the FAA or the local news before calling 911 when their kid just floated away in a balloon. How many people realistically know the AOB of the local police?! Granted, these people weren't normal, but I think it stretches the bounds of credulity to think that would be the thought process of a panicked parent. I don't even think my first instinct would be to do those things, that would be if I built saucer-shaped balloons in the yard in my spare time.
I think you are looking at it from the wrong perspective, as a professional aviator and volunteer police helo aircrew (did I get that right?) you have a much better sense of what to do and who to call. I don't buy that Joe Schmo would know, much less balloon boy's parents.
Maybe they knew because they built a balloon?
And they happened to have the number for the FAA handy? If not, they would have had to pull out the phone book or Google it. Not really at the top of the list of things to do after your kid supposedly floats away. Possible, but I still ain't buying it.
I've heard of stranger things happening....but I'm in the hoax camp. I think the whole thing was rigged.
I've heard of stranger things happening....but I'm in the hoax camp. I think the whole thing was rigged.
I don't think that's really in question anymore, is it?
Brett
No its not....Lazers are you being facetious or have you been under a rock this past week? :icon_tong
Who uses a phone book anymore? I will give you this, ever try and call any air traffic facility in the FAA? It is near impossible. You probably won't get it from 411. You will end up with the number of the local Flight Standards Office or something. It always seemed to me that they are really trying to keep those contact numbers confidential or something. If I wanted to call the local international airport approach/departure control facility or the tower of the nearest general aviation airport I think it would take me 15-30 minutes to get someone on the horn. And I'd like to think I know where to look and who to ask for.
