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The Colorado balloon incident occurred on October 15, 2009, when a six-year-old was mistakenly believed to have floated away in a home-made balloon, attracting world-wide attention.
Falcon Heene, of Fort Collins, Colorado, was believed to be traveling at altitudes reaching 7,000 feet (2,100 m) in a homemade helium balloon colored and shaped to resemble a silver flying saucer-type of UFO.
Falcon, referred to as the “Balloon Boy” by some media outlets, had reportedly climbed into the balloon, after which it became untethered and launched.
The New York Post estimated that the total cost of the rescue operation would be about $2 million, however, this has yet to be verified.
The helicopter flights alone during the rescue operation cost about USD $14,500. The Colorado National Guard assisted the effort with UH-60 Black Hawk and OH-58 Kiowa helicopters.



