A petrol station owner and an Iraqi adventurer trying to fly from Oregon to Montana in tandem lawn chairs suspended from party balloons, made a hard landing after having to abort their flight due to thunderstorms.

USING his trusty BB air gun to help him return to Earth, a 48-year-old gas station owner flew a lawn chair rigged with helium-filled balloons nearly 400km across the Oregon desert at the weekend, landing in a field in Idaho.

LAST weekend, Kent Couch settled down in his chair in Bend, Oregon, with some snacks — and a parachute.