that is all for this edition of "caught on camera." when our feet leave the ground there is no telling how high we can go. >> he said wow, i wish i could get on that cloud and float. >> i said to myself if i see blackness i'm going to freak out. >> or how hard we can fall. >> i thought it likely i'm he about to die. >> in this hour, two mid-air collisions send daredevils plummeting to earth. >> the main thing was being hit. or killed. >> a lungeing plane crops from the sky and crashes into a lake. >> hard to imagine anybody

surviving that. >> and a man teetering on the edge requires a rescue 70 stories above the streets of new york. >> the fear in the situation is really the unpredictability of it. >> caught on camera up in the air. welcome to "caught on camera." i'm contessa brewer. throughout history humans looked for ways to soar if even only for a little while. as you will see a lot can go wrong high up in the air. some of the stories are about dreamers who find a way to conquer new you heights and others about daredevils who relish the trip down. the first story about a man at a low point in his life and the effort high above a city street to save him. 70 stories above the streets of new york, a

desperate man contemplates ending his life by jumping from the top of one of the city's landmark skyscrapers. >> obviously something has brought him to the edge and we want to figure out as quickly as possible. the job could always go very wrong. >> august 10, 2011. detectives james cole and shawn solar are the new york city police department emergency services unit are on duty when the call comes in. >> we started our shift at 3:15 that afternoon. and almost immediately as soon as we finished loading up and checking our equipment a call came over there was a jumper up on top of 30 rockefeller plaza. >> detectives cole and solar raced to mid town manhattan where the 23-year-old man dangled his legs precariously from the 70th floor observation deck of 30ing.

>> th30 rock. >> the first thing i see is him furiously krillin scribbling oa notepad and i tried to communicate with them. >> within the northeast connor standing on approximately a 2-foot by 2-foot wide piece of the building. >> there was about a 7 to 8-foot glass partition between us and him. i climbed up and top of the piece of the building where i could talk down over the partition at him. seeing them actually helps you communicate. >> i wanted to position myself to the other side of the individual. >> he was kind of limited to the one corner of the building and that is something that we tried to do as soon as we got on the scene. >> as police clear the streets below to protect bystanders from possible injury, the detectives begin a dialogue with a distraught man. >> at one point he handed me his bag saying give this to my

mom. i immediately handed it back and said you are going to give it to your mom when we resolve this and we wanted to let him know even though he feels like no one is there communicating with him or listening to him we are there to listen and to help them. >> the grass wall and strong winds make it difficult for detective solar to hear the conversation. in a very bold move, he scales the glass barrier and gets on the ledge. >> to go over a piece of glass with all the beer it was a concern of mine to go over it. if that kind of piece of glass were to break and shatter it is going to fall to the street level and hit an innocent bystander in the street. >> the detective says he fakes injuring himself to appear more vulnerable and less threatening to the subject. once over the glass partition he is in a position to grab the man should he jump. even with safety harnesses, the detectives are risking their

lives. >> the fear in this situation is really the unpredictability of it. the person on the edge is obviously distraught. you don't know if they are going to become violent. >> if the subject became agitated and wanted to strike at me there was a very good possibility he would not only fall himself but actually bring me down with him. >> to diffuse the situation, the detectives offer the man some water and cigarettes. >> he said he didn't smoke. we made a joke it might be a time to start. and he kind of laughed at that. what that does for us is it allows me to move a little closer to the subject and also allows him to understand that i'm this to help. >> eventually he started to talk and he said he was there because he had just lost his job and a man new scrip manusce had written he couldn't get publish. >> it is a good sign if somebody is on the edge and they are continuing to communicate with you. if they are communicating with you, they are not jumping.

>> according to the new york city department of health nearly one out of ten suicides is an out of towner who chooses to take their life at a landmark just like this nevada resident had chosen to do. >> we weren't sure whether it he was going to push himself off and try to jump or scale the grass and try and do like a self-rescue. >> cole makes a split second decision. >> at that point, i jumped from where i was positioned to get into a spot where i could block him from being able to push himself off the building. >> when the subject started to move over we hoisted him up a little bit and then the other crew that was on the roof grabbed him over and safely brought him to the top of the roof. once he was over the glass and secured in handcuffs then we know that the job is pretty much over. at this point in time we tried to continue to talk to him and explain to him that he is

making a very smart decision in handling the situation the way he did. >> the man tells police that he suffers from schizophrenia and is immediately taken to a mental hospital for evaluation. >> any time a job goes as well as this job it is always a feeling of sense of accomplishment. you know, i think any one of us in the emergency services unit when we have the opportunity to help someone, definitely a sense of satisfaction. but then we are kind of off to the next job. coming up, a plane slams into a lake. >> [ bleep ] >> it is hard to imagine anybody surviveing that. >> and when shifting winds push a skydiver off course. >> nine times out of ten you will hit what you are trying to miss. >> brace for impact. >> when "caught on camera up in the air" returns. ♪

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a peaceful day of fishing in summer ends this disaster when a small airplane comes barreling out of the sky and slams into a lake. >> holy [ bleep ] >> pieces of the plane flying everywhere. it is hard to imagine anybody surviving that. >> july 29, 1994. waterford, michigan. martin gomez is shooting his public access fishing show on pontiac lake hoping to reel in a big catch for the cameras. >> all morning long there had been a plane or two that crossed over the lake, but there was one plane that came over and sounded like it stalled and that is when i realized that the plane was in trouble. >> tape that, man. tape it. >> the airplane pilot elliott rapaport and his passengers are on their way to an air show in

oshkosh, wisconsin, when the engine suddenly fails. >> and it is about 800 feet the engine began to sputter. and i figured that landing in the water with my gear up was probably the best choice that i had. gomez speeds over to the wreckage to see how he can help. fortunately, the plane crashes in only about four feet of water so it doesn't sink. >> we're getting you help. >> i got there very fast and there was already people in the water calmly bringing the people out. >> bystanders are able to rescue the two injured passengers from the wreckage but they need help with rapaport. he is still inside the cockpit and bleeding from his head. >> the camera guy got a little

squeamish about the whole thing so i grabbed the camera and as i started shooting after that. i was more concerned about making sure i got the scene on tape. >> sergeant john holland is the only fireman on duty in white lake township when the call comes in. >> when i first arrived there i see the aircraft, the nose down. i can still see the pilot in the plane. with that type of impact an aircraft basically falling out of the sky and hitting the water my biggest concerns are spinal injuries. >> the situation seemed under control but sergeant holland knows there are hidden dangers. a two ton plane leaking 75,000-gallons of jet fuel can be a recipe for disaster. >> you start getting everybody wants to come and look. you have fuel in the water and a combustion engine coming in and the fuel can be ignited.

>> despite the danger, holland goes in after the pilot. >> i actually received first-degree burns around my upper chest and under my arms from the fuel and it was burning. it felt like acid on your skin. >> but in the adrenaline-fueled moment, holland doesn't feel h his injuries yet. he is focused on rescuing the pilot. >> just kind of floated a backboard underneath him to support his spine and bring him back into the shoreline. >> fortunately, everyone survives the crash. but the pilot elliott rapaport doesn't believe luck had anything to do with it. >> the training that i had, i believe, is what saved my life. had i not had that i probably would have spiraled down and crashed.

>> rap paport and the two passengers suffered the same spinal injuries. a crushed l 2-1 ver vertebrae. >> being a little older my injury continued after the fact and i was never able to get into an airplane again. pleased that i had the training that i did have and i was able to come up. >> coming up -- >> i started to see zach lightly move backward. i went oh, no, don't do that. >> misair collision and miscalculations send dare devils dropping from the sky. >> closing speeds in excess of 200 miles an hour. >> and plummeting 6,000 feet into a frozen wilderness. >> i thought i'm about to die

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a spectacular aerial stunt goes horribly wrong. not one, but two midair collisions 10,000 feet above the earth causing chaos in the skies. wing suit flyers are dare devils outfitted ifitted in aec suits allowing them to go at speed is faster than 120 miles an hour. the closest a human can get to actually taking flight. >> basically i feel like i have my own private and personal f-16. >> your arms are our rings and your legs are our engines and wherever you go, you fly to that place. what else can you do to feel like that? >> most people go ride a rollercoaster for a thrill and that is just about something to

put me to sleep. >> but the greater the thrill, the grea greater the danger. >> i would say the most dangerous thing is the risk of collision. if you lose sight of somebody else that you are flying with you can wind up with closing speeds in excess of 200 miles an hour. >> the main fear with being h hit is to be knocked out or killed. >> the biggest risk for collision comes when wing suitors fly dangerously close to each other in formation called flocks and the most important person in the flock is the base. the person flying outside guiding the team toward their target. and there is nobody scottie burn byrnes would won't as his leader more than h his good friend scott. >> scott has been leader of more formations than anybody else on the planet. we can always trust him to get us home. >> they look to me for the point of reference.

i have to hold it right there no matter what happens. >> if he falters in any way h his flock could be thrown in a state of chaos. >> if we are all going in the same direction and all doing the same thing the chances of collision is fairley low but that can change. >> and it can change in an instant. like it can on a -- like it did on a clear day two miles over puerto rico. scott is struck by another wing suitor and starts spiraling out of control toward the earth. february 16, 2008. it is the third day of the annual freefall festival. scott bland, scottie byrnes and their team have been having a blast. >> that day was another perfect day in paradise. >> it's gorgeousing down there. the beaches are beautiful. the water is beautiful. and the skydiving is terrific. >> their team had been jumping

out of planes all morning. on their fifth jump of the day they decide to ratchet up the adrenaline to try one of the most dangerous formations a flock can perform. it is called the stack. >> stacking is basically when you get a new mexico of wing suitors -- a number of wing suitors flying one over the top of the other. and you can only see what is in front of your eyes so you have a hard time seeing the people behind you and you have to rely on those people to do the right thing and to not fly into you. definitely a large risk whenever a stack goes wrong. >> but all seemed okay on exit. team leader scott bland points the flock toward the dropzone as scottie byrnes and another winged suit diver shot the action from the wing and that is when it happened. zach true del hits a pocket of dead care caused by another flyer's wake. >> i started to see him move

backwards and went don't do that. >> he is dropping like a bowling ball and slams right into the black of bland's leg sending the base of the stack into a freefall. it is a scary moment but bland recovers quickly. scottie byrnes with his camera still rolling dives to check on his friend. >> i flue over next to him and gave him an okay significant that will and he had a big smile on his face and kind of a look like what the heck was that. and i know what he interpreted as a smile was a grimace. i said ouch. >> bland is hurting but he has a bigger concern. >> i didn't know if my gear had detached and i might not have been aware of it. i could see from his face looking straight at my face that nothing else was wrong. at that point i knew i was okay. >> bland immediately turned his attention toward the safety of

h his team members who start re-forming around him. >> i need to make sure i'm aiming back towards the dropzone to make sure i'm safe and everybody else gets back. >> as quickly as bland reorients himself unbelievably it happens again. another pocket of dead air and another midair collision. this time two different winged suit flyers. as they tumble in the sky, the team reaches 5,000 feet and bland signals to pull their parachutes, unsure if everyone is accounted for. >> after we hoped the parachutes i look around to see that the correct number of people were there. i knew how many people we had in the flock when we left the airplane and then i counted that number of parachutes plus mine when we opened so i knew everybody at least had a parachute open. they could have been hurt but they were there. >> when they land, bland finds

out that everybody in the group is okay. his legs and back are very sore from the impact but more than anything he is thankful the episode is over. >> it was a huge feeling of relief to finally get my feet back on the ground. there is a rule that it is better to be down here wishing you were up there than to be up there wishing you were down here. >> but if you think this brush will death will cause scott to stop jumping out of planes, think again. >> a lot of people look at skydiving and think these people are nuts and have a death wish and this is not the kind of thing that i could do. there is no payoff without some type ofesqurisk. it you take a graduated risk the payoff can be worth it. jumping from 6,000 feet above one of the coldest and most remote places on earth, a winged suit flyer misjudges his altitude and crashes into a

snow-packed mountain. >> the trip of a lifetime. april 10, 2009. russia. professional wing suit pilot james foley is traveling through russia's far east to shoot a documentary on its extreme landscapes. >> covered in snow nine months a year and the most active volcanos than anyplace on the planet. they call it the land of fire and ice. >> he is eager to make it the most thrilling. >> we had done three other jumps and it was obvious this was going be the last jump because it was getting dark and we were nearly out of daylight. >> he follows the winged suit diver. >> i was filming and i have a cover for the left eye. i wasn't looking through both

eyes through quite a lot of the jump. plus the fact we are flying in slow and in a cloudy day towards unset you can't make out the texture. it is just white. >> the plan is to deploy the parachute at 6 h hundred feet just after the winged suit flyer opens his. although it is dangerously low to the ground he is determined to capture as much of the flight as he can. >> i was very committed to stay there until either people or -- >> he is more focused on getting the shot than on his altitude until the other flyer pulls h his chute. >> i saw him reach for the chute. immediately i saw the ground. rather than being 600 feet i was more like 60 feet. coy see the texture of the snow and the ice. i thought most likely i'm about to die because 60 feet is not enough for the parachute to open at nearly 60 miles an

hour. >> he pulls his parachute hoping for a miracle. >> it didn't open in time but slowed me down enough that i'm still here today. i swung out and i landed flat on my back which spread out the force of the impact. if it had opened a little bit before i would have landed on my legs i would have got internal injuries and would have succumbed surely to the injuries. >> he fractures his spine. amazingly, survives the drop. >> parachuting, all gone, finished. >> three, two, one. >> but time heals wounds and poole can't stay grounded for long. >> after six months i started to miss jumping. this is what i do. this is what i am. i'm a jumper. i fly. >> welcome back! coming up, a thrilling jump

ends in utter disaster. and an aerial artist twists and turns from a bridge hundreds of feet above traffic. when "caught on camera up in the air" returns. having a heart attack. the emts gave me bayer aspirin. it helped save my life. i was in shape, fit. i did not see it coming. my doctor recommends i take bayer aspirin to help prevent another heart attack. [ male announcer ] aspirin is not appropriate for everyone so be sure to talk to your doctor before you begin an aspirin regimen. i've lived through a massive heart attack. i don't take life for granted. see your doctor and get checked out. ♪ see your doctor and get checked out. so you can capture your receipts, ink for all business purchases. and manage them online with jot, the latest app from ink. so you can spend less time doing paperwork.

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two people dead after a dramatic crash at an air show in ohio today. no one in the crowd was is hurt. a wildfire in southwestern colorado has grown to more than 60 square miles. fire officials say the ones fast moving blaze show slowed and they are opt h mystic they can protect the tourist town of southfork. back to laka. welcome back to "caught on camera." the history of skydiving dates

back to 1945 when leonardo da vinci sketched the first plans for a parachute. hundreds dive from planes every year deploying parachutes to bring them safely back to work. according to the united states parachute association the likelihood of a fatal crash is roughly one in 140,000 and the sky diver you are about to see escaped that fate by the skin of his teeth. an experienced sky diver is sailing down to earth at 45 miles per hour like he has done more than 300 times before. about but this time something goes horribly wrong. >> are you okay? >> i have been in other situations where i have got out of them but this one here was just one that the winds happened to catch me at just the wrong time and i had to make some really fast decisions and obviously that -- it didn't

pan out o the way i wanted it to. i hoped that i would miss him but i didn't miss the trail. >> april 30, 2011. high above colorado's fremont county airport, skydiving instructor tommy ferguson is preparing for his third and final jump of the day. >> i already put out two loads of students and the day was going great. this was my third jump that day. i tell the other two jumpers i will film them going out. >> he gets out on the strut of the plane to capture the other sky divers as they jump nearly 4,000 feet to earth. >> i just let go of the aircraft and watched it fly away. >> after freefalling for several seconds, ferguson pulls his parachute and plots a plan for landing. >> i was facing into the wind the whole time and i was thinking i'm not going to make it back and i looked down and

figure i should just land there yes. >> plans to land 80-yards ahead of his intended target until a sudden burst of wind knocks him back on course. >> all of a sudden i got a big gust of wind from my backside. almost like a downdraft was just pushing down on me. >> ferguson is heading directly for the trailer parked inside the drop zone which is used to pick up jumpers once they land. >> i got fixated on the trailer and when you get fixation nine times out of ten you will hit what you are trying to miss. the last thing i remember is if i turn now i can do a hook turn in the ground. >> it can be used to avoid obstacles by doing a sudden 90-degree turn just before landing but they can be fatal if attempted too low not ground. at the last second ferguson chooses not to hook turn and slams into the trailer.

it may not look like it, but it as decision that may have saved his life. >> it was a week later a gentleman did the same thing around denver. he hook turned it and he hit the ground and he is dead. >> ferguson survived the impact but doesn't escape injury. >> i broke eight bones and bruised my left lung and my arm was yanked out of his socket and that broke the brakial plexus, all of the nerves that control the left side of your arm, your hand, your fingers and stuff like that. >> every nerve is severed and ferguson loses all feeling and movement in his left arm. three and a half months after the accident he makes a difficult decision. >> i literally asked them to teak my arm off. -- to take my arm off. it was couple bettersome and just hanging off of me and doing nothing. my doctor is like there is no use keeping it there.

>> ferguson may have suffered a serious injury but that won't stop him from taking flight again. >> i just enjoy the sport and as soon as my amputation heals up i'm going to be back in the sky again with one arm. just when new yorkers think they have seen it all, a woman dangles without a safety harness from one of new york city's monumental bridges, twisting and turning 300 feet above rush hour traffic. and if you are wondering, this is not legal. >> when i said fly high or die, what i was really saying was give me liberty or give me death. july 11, 2011. aerial dancer seanna sharp prepares for one of the most dangerous performances of her life. >> i knew that i would be

performing on the williamsburg bridge the second i laid eyes on it. >> it links manhattan with brooklyn and on the evening of the performance ava is one of a few people with a camera on that bridge. >> a friend of mine e-mailed me the day of her performance and said come out today to the bridge, something amazing is going to happen. i brought my camera with me, not knowing what to expect. >> sharp and a fellow performer carrying a camera scale the tower in 7 minutes where she attaches h her silk cloud swing 300 feet above the deck. >> it is a double trapeze made out o of silk and opens so that you can twist side to side, back and firth. basically gives an incredible versatility. >> once the swing is securely rigged, sharp begins her dance. >> as soon as i got there she was sort of enrobed in the silk so that is when i started shooting and i just thought i'm

committed to keeping the camera on her. choreographedlly core row this seen as a duo but at the last minute my partner didn't feel comfortable doing it. i ended up doing an improvisational sew le instead. >> it was stunnin stunning stus massive industrial looking structure and this tiny fairy like creatures suspended from these silks. >> there is a moment where she drops. even though i was still mesmerized i was like oh, she could have fallen then. >> i have been an aerialist for seven years and i have never fallen and there is no difference between not falling 13 feet and not falling 300 feet. when your body knows how to fly it is not going to let you fall. >> but after about 15 minutes, the high winds whipping sharp around take their toll and

fatigue sets in. >> i didn't want to push it any more than i already had. and i was ready to come down. >> i think that people were really excited and proud that she was doing this. and that they were there to see it. so much so that when the police came people were cheering for her and showing their support. >> i wanted people to see that i was being arrested not for breaking the law but for breaking tradition. >> sharp is arrested and charged with multiple felonies. she is locked up for three days before she is released on bale. the felony charges are eventually lessened to about misdemeanors in court. she is offered a plea deal and pleads guilty to the charges. her sentence. five free aerial shows for children. >> my decision was neither

reckless nor endangering of others. it was planned. controlled. considered. part of the reason i planned it the way i did was so that if i did fall i would fall on the subway tracks. i hope through the capturing on video that we can appreciate what humans are capable of and such beauty and grace and strength and bravery. >> the two most commonly asked questions are why did you do it and would you you do it again? >> to the first i say because i can. and to the second, i never do the same thing twice. coming up. >> i'm asking myself if i see blackness i'm going to freak out. >> a father and son let their imaginations soar. >> we were just stunned and it was the most incredible thing ever. when "caught on camera up in the air" returns. julie! hey...guess what day it is??

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a father southbound/son project elevates a home made aircraft higher than they ever imagined. >> i said to myself if i see blackness i'm going to freak out. >> when we saw the blackness of space and curvature of the earth and the blue glow that the earth gives off, we were just stunned and it was just the most incredible thing ever. >> cinematografher luke guise geismiller loved doing projects with his son max especially when it involved cameras. >> we came across this project online and the potential of the outcome was so huge we couldn't pass it up. >> they planned on launching a camera into space with the aid

of a helium filled weather balloon. >> took 8 months to research and build different and do tests. >> we attached a parachute from the kitchen window down to the backyard. >> and we did a little altitude test because we just wanted to put it up in the air and then bring it down. >> first model of it was like continuous wings. >> we were looking at things like how shaky it would be. how much it would be influenced by wind and things like that. it told us a lot. >> it is essential the aircraft rise and fall with as little resistance as possible. this many keep it stable enough to capture a steady shot. >> the foam outside was done with spray insulation that you would use for your windows in your home and that made kind of a hard case and made this hamburger shape that was

aerodynamic. >> we could see it if it like fell in the forest. it was like traffic cone paint so it really stood out. >> although the paint will make it easier to spot they need something much more dependable if they are going to find it. >> it seemed to be the best app to track the balloon. >> if you lost your phone you would have like a way to track it. >> here is the camera. >> next to it was a little ht camera used for sky diving and motorsports. >> the whole craft with the camera and system is within the 4-pound limit for the faa regulation. >> august 11, 2010, newberg, new york. after 8 months of prep work

launch day finally arrives. >> when assembling the balloon the two kids were just so excite. >> we bought some lollipops so we were really hyped up. >> the kids gave the great countdown. >> 10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1, 0. blastoff! >> it started rocking like crazy. it was going 25 feet a second. it was pretty fast. after about two minutes it disappeared into the clouds. >> the geis muellers tracked the coordinates but that is no guarantee they would be able to guarantee it. >> it could not give out a signal and we will never find it. if it falls in anything that would block the transmission, falls into dense trees too deeply it could lose reception. >> if it falls into water that

would be very bad. a lot of things can go wrong. >> until the recover the craft it will be a mystery as to what the camera captures. fortunately, it lands only 30 miles north of the launch site and they are able to restrive the footage. >> we got a little sick actually watching it. because we were eating and watching it at our kitchen table for the first time and we were so focused on the screen and eating at the same time and it is swishing around. >> but once it reaches the stratosphere everything levels out. >> according to the iphone the craft peaks at 00,000 feet for nearly 19 miles above the earth on its 95 minute voyage. >> at the very end the balloon is stretche stretched to its ae maximum capacity, 22 feet in

diameter is enormous and a little craft below it. >> it got like that big because of the pressure lightens as you get up. there is not a lot of oxygen and the air is very thin. >> the pressure of the helium inside the balloon is now much greater than the surrounding air pressure. so it continued to expand until finally the balloon popped. and the craft comes plummeting back to earth at more than 100 miles an hour. >> so the parachute delies maybe 30 seconds after the balloon bursts but it doesn't do anything until it gets to h heavier air. >> at one point it rocked head over heels. it was pretty amazing because there is a lot of reasons that it wouldn't work. >> i shot a lot of things and that by far takes the cake. the most impressive thing i have ever shot.

coming up, party balloons, a lawn chair and a dream. >> you look up and see a little cloud and say wow, i wish i could get on that cloud and float. i mean, i haven't actually lost any weight, but i feel skinnier, you know? ly. when "caught on camera up in the air" returns. aaah! jessica! whoa! your friend's a rate sucker. her bad driving makes car insurance more expensive for the rest of us. try snapshot from progressive. snap it in and get a discount based on your good driving. [pop!] stop paying for rate suckers! try snapshot free at progressive.com. in parks across the country, families are coming together to play, stay active, and enjoy the outdoors. and for the last four summers, coca-cola has asked america to choose its favorite park through our coca-cola parks contest. winning parks can receive a grant of up to $100,000.

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a gas station owner gives out his childhood fantasy floating nearly 18,000 feet above the earth tethered to dozens of brightly colored balloons. >> some of my best memories are as a child. you see a little cloud and think wow, i wish i could get on that cloud and float. it is a wonderful, peaceful experience. >> this is not just a flight of fancy for kent couch. in 2008, he tries to break his own record for number of miles traveled in what is called a cluster balloon. >> i call cluster ballooning simply a way to get up in the

air with a group of balloons. some people would use weather balloons. i have never done that. party balloons seem to be dependable. the funny thing is usually i use a lawn chair because it is comfortable and i can recline and set up and lane back. it is kind of redneck and i'm kind of redneck. >> there are some federal aviation rules to follow but remarkably as long as the aircraft stays under 254-pounds he isn't required to have a pilot's license nor does he have to register it with the faa. he does need some technical assist glance my friend has done a great job of making everything work so much better. >> it might like unfair but actually a lot of care and attention has gone to make it very safe. >> cluster ballooning has come a long way since it was first attempted in the early 1930s. the lawn chair is outfitted

with all of the gear he will need to survive a long strip from the gps system so the ground crew can track him so an oxygen tank so he can breathe above about 13,000 feet. and lucky for us it also includes cameras to document his voyages. this preparation for break his record the most valuable tool for couch is the experience he has gained from his earlier attempts like this white knuckle flight in 2007. >> in that '07 flight the wind would shoot me one way or another and it was a little bit treacherous there but fatigue got to me on that trip because i had a big old parachute and it was bumpy and my back was killing me and i was running out of ballast. >> ballast is any type of weight that improves an aircraft stability. couch prefers to use water. >> if he gets down too low he drops water out to go back up. when gets too high he pops a couple of balloons to get back

down. running out of ballast is like the end of the ride in terms of his ability to control the altitude. each time it kind of made things a little better learning from the previous flights. >> i started using a pilot's parachute which is much more comfortable. more ballasts, more safety, better communications between the ground crew. >> july 5, 2008. kent attempts to fly from bend, oregon to boise, idaho, and break his record of 193 miles traveled on a cluster balloon. >> and lunge day we have to be up at 3:30 in the morning. >> usually 50 volunteers. we have four or six helium stations and each has four people on it with a different role. we don't blow them up all the

way because we want room to expand. >> we put them in clusters of five and start assembling into larger clusters of 15 or 20. >> couch kisses his wife and with cameras rolling begins the ascent. >> i can't steer myself. that is what i like is you just go where the winds take you. >> it is super quiet. he is traveling at the same speed of the wind. even when is moving at 50 miles an hour he could set a napkin on his knee and it wouldn't go now where. >> it is like sitting on a cloud. you start dreaming a moment you had as a child. >> he crosses the state line in idaho. he is not going to make it to boise. the winds pushed him off course 85 miles north of the city. >> i was tired of being up there. i'm not a guy to sit still.

>> despite missing the mark he knows he has still broken his previous record so couch prepares to land. >> you have to have a way to make sure to get the balloons popped on the way down. my preference is a daycy red rider bb gun. >> it only takes a couple of balloons to change from ascending to descending. >> no wires, no houses no roads is what i'm hoping for. >> he touches down in cambridge, idaho, to a hero's welcome. the new cluster balloon distance record, 235 miles. >> so i think my next flight i'm sure i will get enough balloons and ballasts to go to 25,000 feet and so see if i can stay out overnight i can maybe break my own record and go farther. maybeky go 500-miles. >> luckily, cluster ballooning is a rare past time.

it requires skill and training to operate safely as well as a fair amount of luck. that is all for this edition of "caught on camera." due to mature subject matter, viewer discretion is advised. did you just trip over something? >> i don't remember. >> you don't remember. did somebody help you fall? >> a suspected inmate is covering up his own brutal beating. >> i don't like using the same room that everybody else uses because i'm bringing their funk in my cell. >> two cell mates shared deep