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Fossett breaks flight distance record
(AP)
Updated: 2006-02-12 11:47
Adventurer Steve Fossett completed the longest nonstop flight in aviation
history with an emergency landing Saturday, flying 26,389 miles in about 76
hours but stopping early because of mechanical problems.
Ground control said Fossett, 61, broke the airplane distance record of 24,987
miles while his lightweight experimental plane was flying over Shannon, Ireland.
Generator problems then forced him to land the Virgin Atlantic Global Flyer
at Bournemouth International Airport in southern England instead of at a
military air strip in nearby Kent.
Steve Fossett,
right, is welcomed by Richard Branson after landing safely after declaring
an emergency following a loss of electrical power at Bournemouth, England,
Saturday, Feb 11, 2006. [AP] |
"I was really lucky to make it here today, there was a lot going on," Fossett
told reporters after he landed. "The tension of the final part really took it
out of me, but I will be fine in the morning."
The millionaire adventurer completed his nonstop journey around the globe —
and then some — over 3 1/2 days despite losing about 750 pounds of fuel during
his takeoff Wednesday from the Kennedy Space Center in Florida because of a
leak.
Fossett recounted the journey after he arrived later on Saturday at his
scheduled finishing point — Kent International Airport — on a private jet
alongside Sir Richard Branson, the billionaire owner of Virgin Atlantic, which
sponsored Fossett's record bid. He was greeted there by his wife, Peggy, and
rapturous applause from the assembled crowd.
Stepping onto the tarmac in his silver flight suit, Fossett said he was
relieved after being forced to make the emergency landing.
He said he realized he was in trouble when he began his descent for Kent and
a light came on indicating the plane's generator had failed, prompting him to
put emergency procedures in place.
The tense climax was one of several episodes that nearly doomed his voyage.
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