French adventurer Michel Fournier, 64, who wished to set the world skydiving record, saw his hopes float away at North Battleford, Saskatchewan on Tuesday when the helium balloon that was supposed to take him to death-defying heights for his feat, er, got away from him without him attached. The $200,000 balloon was supposed to take Fournier to a world-record height of 130,000 feet.
Fournier had hoped to break the record for the fastest and longest free fall, the highest parachute jump and the highest balloon flight. He also hoped to bring back data that will help astronauts and others survive in the highest of altitudes.
A former army paratrooper with more than 8,000 jumps under his belt, Fournier planned to be freefalling at a height three times higher than a commercial jetliner flies. A mountain climber would have to ascend the equivalent of four Mount Everests stacked one on top of the other.
To read up on Fournier, go to his site, Le Grand Saut (The Big Jump).
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