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Kent Couch of Oregon flew 193 miles on a lawn chair attached to helium balloons, emulating the startling 1982 flight over San Pedro by the late Larry Walters. Here's the AP story on Couch, and an old Daily Breeze story on Walters. His experience was marked by mishaps, like dropping the pellet gun he needed to shoot balloons to descend, but Walters reached 16,000 feet and was spotted by airline pilots before landing in power lines in Long Beach. He paid a $1,500 fine to the FAA, and when asked why he did it quipped, "A man can't just sit around." Walters committed suicide in 1993.
AP Photo / The Bulletin, Pete Erickson