The new Netflix documentary,Trainwreck: Balloon Boy, focuses on the bizarre story surrounding the Heene family in 2009, and the true motivations behind the outlandish incident.Trainwreck: Balloon Boyexplores a controversial event where a homemade balloon was accidentally released over South Carolina and the nationwide panic surrounding it when it was initially believed that a young boy was trapped inside.
Using newsreel footage that covered the controversy and interviews with the family, their associates, and reporters involved in exploring the incident, the latest inNetflix’s increasing list of documentariesexplores the backstory of how the helium balloon was created, the emergency call made to authorities and the live chase made by police and National Security to catch the balloon.
The documentary covering the Balloon Boy is the latest in Netflix’sTrainwreckseries. Since 2022, theTrainwreckdocumentary series has covered different topical events, including Woodstock 1999, theAstroworld tragedy, Project X, the American Apparel cult, and thechaotic political career of Rob Ford. Directed by Gillian Pachter,Trainwreck: Balloon Boyshows how the incident caught the media’s attention and how it later affected the Heene family.
The Netflix documentary includes interviews with each member of the Heene family, including the titular Balloon Boy, and they each provide their perspective on the incident, the negative media attention surrounding them, and how it affected them as the years progressed.
Who Balloon Boy Was & Where He Really Was During The Incident
Falcon Heene Was Just Six Years Old During The Balloon Incident
In 2009, amateur inventor Richard Heenecreated a 20-foot-long, five-foot-wide helium balloon out of aluminum foil and plastic tarp, receiving assistance from his three sons, Bradford, Ryo, and Falcon. In the Netflix documentary, Heene described himself as an individual with “a very deep passion for things that are unknown” and video footage shows him encouraging his sons to explore scientific experiments.
During the balloon’s construction, Heene was shown receiving help from his sons in preparation for the balloon’s inflation. Neighbors, Dean Askew and Tina Chavez, witnessed the balloon’s construction and described it as looking like “a big silver disk.” Mayumi Heene revealed in the documentary that it took the family two weeks to assemble the balloon, andtheir youngest son, Falcon Heene, regularly hid underneath it.
On July 28, 2025, during the balloon’s inflation, the tethers came loose, and the balloon was accidentally set free. The eldest Heene son, Bradford, recalled “looking around and not seeing Falcon” and believed that his younger brother was in the balloon. After searching around the house, authorities were called, and the operation began to locate the balloon.
After two hours in the air, the balloon was brought down in a Colorado field, but there was no sign of Falcon. It was not until later in the day that he was found inside the house, having fallen asleep in “[his] hiding spot, the garage attic.” InBalloon Boy,Falcon Heene revealed thathe fell asleep in the attic and went downstairs to find police officers and his family frantically searching for him.
How The Balloon Boy Incident Was Confirmed To Be A Hoax
The Heenes Were Investigated By Authorities Following The Balloon’s Landing
Following the announcement that Falcon Heene had been found at the family home, there was surprise and confusion as to how the police had failed to find the boy during their initial search of the property. InTrainwreck: Balloon Boy,investigator Bob Heffernan explained that he thought they had fulfilled the protocol to thoroughly search the home, “but clearly [they] hadn’t.”
In the hours following the announcement of Falcon’s safe recovery, media outlets and news reporters surrounded the Heene family home. The family agreed to an interview on Larry King Live, which Richard Heene described in the Netflix documentary as nerve-wracking and confusing for their young sons at the time.
During the Larry King interview, Falcon Heene was questioned as to why he did not respond to his parents' calls during the initial search. Heene responded, saying that his parents “did this for the show.” The young boy’s comment during the interviewinstantly implied to the public that the Heenes had staged the event to gain media attention, launching a criminal investigation into both Richard and Mayumi Heene.
Investigators later examined the weight of the balloon and determined that it was not strong enough to take off with a young boy inside (viaCNN).This discovery led investigators to determine that the incident was staged as a hoax and resulted incriminal charges filed against both Richard and Mayumi Heene.
Did Richard & Mayumi Heene Come Up With The Balloon Hoax To Become Famous?
The Parents Have Always Maintained Their Innocence In The Incident
Following the Larry King interview, investigators began a search to determine whether Richard and Mayumi Heene had created the hoax to become famous. It was discovered that the Heene family had previously appeared on the reality show,Wife Swap,which fueled the belief that the balloon incident was created as a publicity stunt and to get the family their own reality series (viaTIME).
It was discovered that the Heene family had previously appeared on the reality show,Wife Swap.
Both Richard and Mayumi Heene denied staging the balloon incident for publicity, with Richard Heene stating that he would never consider staging an event that could"potentially send [him] to jail.“He also stated that the family only participated onWife Swapbecause “they offered to to pay [them] and [they] needed the money"at the time.
In the Netflix documentary, Falcon Heene also denied that his parents staged the incident and that hebelieved the media had taken his comment out of context. He also argued that his age at the time meant that “adults took together whatever [he] said"and blew it out of proportion.
Richard & Mayumi Heene’s Criminal Charges For The Balloon Boy Hoax Explained
They Received A Pardon By Governor Jared Polis In 2020
In the aftermath of the balloon incident, both Richard and Mayumi Heene faced separate charges relating to the event. In November 2009,Richard Heene pleaded guilty to attempting to influence a public servant. Mayumi Heene pled guilty to making a false report to authorities (viaBBC).
In December 2009, Richard Heene was sentenced to 90 days in prison, while Mayumi Heene received a 20-day weekend prison sentence, allowing her to stay with her children during the week (viaOxygen).The couple was also ordered to pay a fine of $36,000 in restitution.
In 2020,Richard and Mayumi Heene received a pardonfrom Colorado Governor Jared Polis. In an official statement, Governor Polis stated that the Heenes had served their sentence and the pardon would allow them the opportunity to move on with their lives away from the scandal (viaNPR).
After Richard Heene was released from prison in 2009, the family left Colorado and moved to Florida to distance themselves from the incident (viaPeople).While they were eventually pardoned, as shown inTrainwreck: Balloon Boy,the Heenes continue to deny that the incident was a hoax and believe that their full story was not fully told to the public.
Sources:CNN,TIME,BBC,Oxygen,NPR,People
Trainwreck: Balloon Boy
A Colorado family launches a homemade “UFO” balloon, sparking nationwide panic when a 6‑year‑old is believed aboard.
