'Balloon Boy' from hit Netflix documentary explains $63,000 hoax that shocked the world
Netflix sure knows how to pump out a good docuseries, and while we were once obsessed with the likes of Don't F**k with Cats and Tiger King, our latest bingeworthy obsession is the Trainwreck series.
Starting in June 2025 with the three-part series Trainwreck: Woodstock '99 in 2022, the documentary genre has since spun out to tackle everything from 2013's Carnival Sunrise 'poop cruise' to the downfall of American Apparel and the Astroworld tragedy.
Netflix already has more Trainwrecks in the pipeline, with upcoming releases including P.I. moms and Area 51. Considering the Trainwreck series currently has an impressive 77% score on Rotten Tomatoes, it's clear that curiosity is getting the better of us. We're all in the grip of the latest outing, with Trainwreck: Balloon Boy being one of the wildest yet.
Back in 2009, six-year-old Falcon Heene became headline news around the globe when he was seemingly embroiled in a hoax with his parents and dubbed 'Balloon Boy' by the world's media.
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Richard and Mayumi Heene’s homemade helium balloon in the shape of a flying saucer flew into the air above Fort Collins, Colorado. Claiming Falcon was inside as the balloon soared to 7,000 feet during a 90-minute flight, the National Guard helicopters and local police pursued the balloon, but after it was recovered empty, there were fears that an object spotted falling had been Falcon.
The young boy was soon found hiding in the attic, and before long, it was suggested that the whole thing had been a publicity stunt that was orchestrated by his parents to try and get them on a reality TV series.
Footage of Richard creating the saucer is seen in the documentary, taking just two weeks to build the 20 feet wide by six feet tall saucer. The plan was to keep it hovering at 20 feet, but when it broke free from its tether on October 15, 2009, the Balloon Boy hoax was born.
Falcon was known for crawling inside the craft, even though it wasn't meant to carry people. When the saucer started to float, Falcon's older brother claimed he'd seen him go inside.
Even though Falcon wasn't, he told viewers his motives: "After dad yelled at me a few times for being in there, I was scared and thought, 'You know what? I’m just not going to be here'.
“So, I made my way up to my new hiding spot in the garage attic and just chilled there for a while and fell asleep."
When interviewed by Wolf Blitzer, the news anchor asked why Falcon didn't come down from the attic when he heard people shouting his name. The young kid admitted: "You guys said that we did this for the show."
Mayumi Heene failed a lie detector, and while the family maintains their innocence in the documentary, investigator Bob Heffernan is convinced it was to get them back on TV after already appearing on Wife Swap.
In the end, Richard pleaded guilty to criminal charges and spent 30 days in jail, Mayumi was handed a 20-day sentence, and the pair were ordered to pay the $42,000 cost of the rescue operation ($63,000 in 2025). Richard says that Mayumi was threatened with deportation if he didn't plead guilty, although this is something Heffernan denies.
But what does Falcon think of all this? Discussing his legacy as Balloon Boy, the now-adult Falcon concluded: "I think it’s crazy how I was able to just say a single sentence and affect the whole state of the country.
"I remember feeling bad that I did something wrong. But looking back on it, I was six years old, and all these adults took whatever I said, and they’re able to just string together what they thought was something else and make it so big. It’s baffling."