BILLINGS — When Michael Glen was notified by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) that his application for a balloon pilot license had been denied, it was not because of flight hours or safety violations. It was because he uses a wheelchair.
“A year after I applied for my license, the FAA actually denied me because of my disability,” said Glen. “They said, ‘You can’t do it.’ It’s a government agency, and any time you ask the government about something new, their answer is, ‘No.’ It’s, ‘Go out and prove to me what you can do.’ That’s what I did over the next 10 years.”
This balloonist did not just defy gravity—he rewrote the rules. Hit play and let his story lift you:
In 2006, he proved them wrong — becoming what he believes to be the first person in recorded history to receive a hot air balloon pilot license while using a wheelchair.
“In 2006, I got my license, making me the first guy in the world to fly balloons in a wheelchair,” said Glen.
This week, Glen brought that story to the Big Sky Balloon Rally, where pilots and balloonists from across the region gathered at Amend Park, despite the weather grounding Saturday’s launches.
Glen was first introduced to ballooning as an infant. His father began flying balloons in 1973, and Glen took his first flight at just two weeks old.
His journey to the title of pilot took a sudden turn, however, at age 21. A single-car crash left him paralyzed from the waist down after being ejected from the vehicle without a seatbelt.
“I was involved in a single-car rollover at 21 years old,” said Glen. “I wasn’t wearing my seatbelt and was ejected from the car. From that, I decided one of the things I really wanted to do was become a balloon pilot.”
Glen agrees, the activity reflects a symbol for life. When you are kept grounded, you make the most of it. When winds lift you, you rise.
“I’m so lucky to be here,” said Glen. “So, I do everything I can to enjoy the day.”
