Dare-devil balloonist fails in volcano stunt

Wairarapa hot air balloonist Rick Walczak's attempt this morning to become the first person in the world to fly out of a live volcano has been abandoned due to windy conditions.

The dare-devil balloonist was to attempt to fly his egg-shaped balloon out of White Island volcano in the Bay of Plenty about 8am.

The weather forecast had been perfect but wind drafts inside the volcano made it too dangerous for the crew, Mr Walczak told NZPA from White Island.

"It's very disappointing ... but we will absolutely try again, probably within the next month," he said.

"We are all just kicking ourselves and now waiting to be picked up [by helicopter]."

A helicopter managed to fly the balloon and crew inside the volcano but the attempt had to be abandoned due to the wind.

After rising from White Island, Walczak had planned to fly the balloon to Whakatane where a large party would have been waiting to welcome him back down to earth.

Mr Walczak said a second mid-life crisis had spurred him to take on the challenge.

"A lot of people do a lot of different things and I'm just lucky to be able to do something special and this is what I do and this is what I enjoy."

In 2004, Mr Walczak became the first man to fly over Mt Taranaki and Mt Ruapehu in the "Egg" balloon but narrowly missed an attempt at Mt Cook due to bad weather.

- NZPA