Missing 'Balloon Priest's' Body Found In Atlantic | Aero-News Network
Aero-News Network
RSS icon RSS feed
podcast icon MP3 podcast
Subscribe Aero-News e-mail Newsletter Subscribe

Airborne Unlimited -- Most Recent Daily Episodes

Episode Date

Airborne-Monday

Airborne-Tuesday

Airborne-Wednesday Airborne-Thursday

Airborne-Friday

Airborne On YouTube

Airborne-Unlimited-09.29.25

AirborneNextGen-
09.30.25

Airborne-Unlimited-10.01.25

Airborne-Unlimited-09.25.25

AirborneUnlimited-09.26.25

Sun, Jul 06, 2008

Missing 'Balloon Priest's' Body Found In Atlantic

Disappeared During April Flight Attached To Party Balloons

Officials believe the body of a Brazilian priest missing since April has been located in the Atlantic, about 60 miles from land.

As ANN reported, Reverend Adelir Antonio di Carli disappeared April 20, during an attempt to set a new Guinness World Record for human flight using party balloons. He went missing eight hours after taking off from Paranagua, suspended under some 1,000 helium-filled balloons.

Deutsche Presse-Agentur reports a body believed to be the missing priest's was recovered by a tugboat crew Friday. Officials plan to conduct DNA testing to be certain, but police say clothing, shoes and personal items recovered with the body leave little doubt they've found di Carli.

Reverend di Carli was no stranger to flying under balloons -- he made a similar attempt in January, reportedly climbing over 16,000 feet using 500 balloons. He was making his latest attempt not only in hopes of setting a new record, but also to draw attention to the need for rest stops for Brazilian truck drivers, and to promote religion.

Questions remain concerning di Carli's preparedness for his fateful flight. Shortly after the priest went missing, a Brazilian reporter stated that despite carrying a GPS unit and wearing a thermal, waterproof flight suit, di Carli was woefully unprepared for his planned 19+ hour journey.

Among those issues, said Folha de Sao Paolo reporter Barbara Gancia, was that di Carli did not know how to operate his global positioning receiver.

Unfortunately, circumstances seem to support that claim. di Carli reportedly encountered bad weather shortly after takeoff, that pushed him out to sea off Brazil's southern coast. In his last communication with those monitoring his flight, the priest said he was having problems staying in the air.

FMI: www.guinnessworldrecords.com

Advertisement

More News

Ticket Sales NOW OPEN for 2025 Affordable Flying Expo!

Check out https://affordableflying.net/attend/ Right Away and Get YOUR Tickets To the Affordable Flying Expo! OK.... with a little over a month to go, it’s time to get seriou>[...]

Aero-News: Quote of the Day (09.29.25)

"Amelia made it almost three-quarters of the way around the world before she suddenly, and without notice, vanished—never to be seen again. Her disappearance, almost 90 years>[...]

ANN's Daily Aero-Linx (09.29.25)

Aero Linx: Cessna 150-152 Club The Cessna 150-152 Club has been the go-to place for information about the care and operation of the World’s Most Popular Two-Place Airplane si>[...]

ANN's Daily Aero-Term (09.29.25): Hover Taxi

Hover Taxi Used to describe a helicopter/VTOL aircraft movement conducted above the surface and in ground effect at airspeeds less than approximately 20 knots. The actual height ma>[...]

Airborne 09.26.25: Army Cuts AV-Ranks, 2025 ATC Hiring, AF Next-Gen Fighter

Also: Purdue In Space?, 4 SpecOps Lost In Helo Crash, Solid-Fuel Ramjet, Ultra-High Airspace Over FL The US Army recently confirmed its plans to thin out its active duty aviation r>[...]

blog comments powered by Disqus



Advertisement

Advertisement

Podcasts

Advertisement

© 2007 - 2025 Web Development & Design by Pauli Systems, LC