Two men are under investigation after launching helium balloons and a blow-up doll into airspace used by sea planes taking off and landing in the Vancouver Harbour. They were filming the stunt to be posted on Youtube, according to police.

Just after 8 p.m. on Wednesday, a West Vancouver officer on patrol spotted the men on Ambleside Beach preparing to 10 large helium balloons with a “an adult-sized and shaped inflatable” suspended underneath.

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“It would appear this is a prank that may not have been intended for all audiences,” said Const. Jeff Palmer said. “Obviously at the time, our officer saw it as a pretty significant risk being introduced into a flight environment and wanted to take steps to deal with it.”

The officer confronted the men and warned them not to release the balloons, Palmer said, but they went ahead with cameras rolling.

The balloons then drifted south into English Bay an up about 400 feet up into the flight path of used by sea planes and helicopters in Vancouver Harbour aerodrome.

“We contacted Transport Canada and the Civil Aviation Branch. They did issue an alert to aircraft in the area that there was a large… collection of balloons that could pose a flight hazard,” Palmer said,

Fortunately, no aircraft were mid-take-off or landing at the time.

Police arrested the pair, a 19-year-old North Vancouver man and a 19-year-old Pitt Meadows man, and seized their cameras and cellphones. They have since been released although the case remains under investigation. Police are working with Transport Canada to determine whether a charge of mischief under the Criminal Code of Canada or other charges under the Aeronautics Act are appropriate.

Palmer said birthday balloons may accidentally go astray but he’d never seen such a risky prank in his career.

“There should be awareness of the risk to aviation. It could end up in a flight path… it certainly could pose a risk of being sucked into an engine intake of some sort or could end up interrupting visibility for a pilot,” Palmer said.