In the latest episode of the Netflix documentary series Trainwreck, aptly titled Balloon Boy, an unusual story from Fort Collins, Colorado, hits our screens. The one common factor among all the incidents featured in Trainwreck so far is the media attention and online buzz they generated. In this case, local and national news outlets rightfully went into a frenzy when it was reported that a six-year-old boy was trapped inside a homemade flying saucer. However, the story took an unexpected turn when authorities suspected the entire incident might have been staged and the emergency fabricated, all of which is covered in the entertaining documentary Balloon Boy.
Getting to know the Heene family is undoubtedly the first thing to look for in Trainwreck: Balloon Boy, as this family unit is clearly unusual and quirky. Richard Heene, the patriarch, always had a keen interest in science and technology, and his specialty was creating devices from scratch. Although he had never received formal engineering training, Richard continued to build things around his home, and when he met and fell in love with Mayumi, a Japanese student in the United States, it seemed like a perfect match. Although Mayumi didn't share the same enthusiasm for hands-on experimentation, she certainly supported her husband in all his projects.
Director: Gillian Pachter
Writer: Gillian Pachter
Stars: Richard Heene, Mayumi Heene, Bradford Heene
Their three young sons, Bradford, Ryo, and Falcon, constantly enjoyed a life centered on scientific experiments and helped their father in any way they could. The family was always doing unusual things, such as building electronic devices or chasing tornadoes and cyclones, just for fun, and they were also well-liked in the neighborhood. One of their neighbors, Dean Askew, who lived directly across the street from their home in Fort Collins, remembers always wondering if Richard had dropped out of MIT or some prestigious engineering school because of his scientific abilities. Since the Heene family's backyard was visible from his bedroom window, Dean also remembers seeing the family working on a huge circular object one day, and he was intrigued by the new invention they were about to devise.
This large circular object was actually a flying saucer that Richard Heene had designed, inspired by the animated film "The Jetsons." For Richard, the flying cars in the series were the epitome of scientific invention and futuristic wonder, as they were for many who marveled at the show as children, and he had long wanted to build something like this. An inventor at heart, with enormous self-confidence, Richard began designing a flying saucer, convinced that his invention would not only be attractive but would also help avoid traffic on the roads. So, the man and his three sons built a flying saucer, and they all eagerly awaited test day.
The youngest Heene, Falcon, had developed a real knack for doing what was forbidden, and as an adventurous 6-year-old, he loved to sneak into the compartment under the flying saucer, simply to have his own space. Although this compartment was designed to be filled with helium and not for any human to enter, Falcon would climb into it, as he fit perfectly in the confined space, and then spend time alone. This was precisely what triggered the entire fiasco on October 15, 2009, when the Heene family gathered to test their flying saucer for the first time.
That specific day had been chosen because it was Richard and Mayumi's anniversary, and together they had enthusiastically begun the process of filling the saucer with helium. However, there seemed to have been a grave error, as Mayumi, who was in charge of carefully tying the ropes to ensure that the saucer, which was theoretically just a large balloon, would not rise beyond a calculated point. But because the tethers were not properly placed, the balloon began to ascend at full speed and, within a couple of minutes, flew away from the Heene family's backyard, rapidly ascending thanks to the helium.
Richard was already furious that his project, worth thousands of dollars, had slipped away, but to make matters worse, Ryo, frantically, pointed out to his parents an even more serious situation. His younger brother, Falcon, was nowhere to be seen, and in fact, he had seen little Falcon crawl into the compartment under the balloon, as he always liked to do. Richard and Mayumi panicked at this possibility, and after searching the entire house for Falcon without finding a trace of him, they decided to inform the authorities.
The news that the balloon was empty completely devastated Richard and Mayumi, who feared the worst, and with good reason. One of their neighbors had previously taken a photo of the balloon in flight, with an object seemingly falling from it. Although the photo wasn't clear enough to identify what it was, most people guessed that Falcon must have fallen at that precise moment. By then, a police unit was already at the Heene home, along with numerous journalists waiting outside, when Bob Heffernan, the lead investigator on the case, heard a sudden commotion around 4 p.m. As if by some divine miracle, Falcon had just entered the house and asked his mother for food, as he was very hungry, much to the delight of his parents and siblings.
It turned out that Falcon hadn't sneaked into the balloon that morning, but had simply wandered away from the backyard when no one was looking. Falcon, now an adult, appears in the documentary to reveal what he did that fateful day and how he snuck into his new favorite hiding place: the garage attic. He did so to spend some time alone and fell asleep there, only to wake up from hunger hours later. He had no idea that some believed him missing, or even dead, and he wasn't even aware of the balloon fiasco. Falcon remembers being quite shocked and confused to understand why so many people were in his house, which is why he ran back to his parents when he woke up.
This sudden turn of events meant, above all, that the six-year-old boy was safe and with his family, but it also raised a lot of questions on social media and online news forums. As soon as authorities were alerted, a police team arrived at the Heene home, but no one could find the missing boy. Heffernan addresses the issue in the film, stating that he assumed some police officers had already conducted an exhaustive search of the house and wouldn't consider doing so personally again. More importantly, it meant that the police and the media had invested enormous amounts of time and resources investigating a case and a story, respectively, that weren't true.
Minutes after the news of Falcon's miraculous return home became public, Richard and the entire family went out into the garden to speak to the media, and everyone, especially Richard, seemed quite uncomfortable and out of place. While he seemed a little shaken up by the situation and also nervous in front of the cameras, being a layman, some were quick to point out that he seemed a little nervous, almost as if he was faking it. But things took an unexpected turn when the family gave an interview to "Larry King Live" that same evening, and they asked Falcon directly why he didn't answer from the attic when his parents and the police repeatedly called him.
To everyone's surprise, the young man responded nervously to the question, implying that he was only following his parents' orders, who had told him to stay in the attic, as it was all part of a film shoot. While Falcon's childish words didn't expose this theory so clearly, the implications of his answer certainly did, and both police and internet users began to see the situation differently. In what seemed like a desperate attempt to avoid suspicion, the Heenes appeared on a news program the following morning, this time to clarify that Falcon was confused by the "Larry King Live" question and had misinterpreted what he had been asked.
After Falcon's true whereabouts became known, some reporters asked him to show them how he had climbed into the garage attic and how he had remained hidden, and the boy recreated the entire thing. According to the Heenes' current claim, Falcon believed he was being asked about this situation and not the original incident that morning, so he mentioned it was for a program. To prove his veracity, Richard even posted a home video recorded during the balloon launch on news channels. The family frequently recorded home videos, and this was one of them, only this one recorded the frantic moments when they realized, or believed, that Falcon was in the balloon.
But people on the internet simply weren't convinced, and in fact, Richard's attempts to prove his story ended up making him look more suspicious. To most, young Falcon had innocently revealed the truth during the "Larry King Live" interview, and the home video also gave the impression that the entire family was acting frantic and panicked on camera. Within a day, it began to look as if the Heenes had faked the emergency, and it wasn't long before a plausible motive emerged.
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