Hours of thunderstorms, turbulence, light snow, and ice last Friday caused balloonist Steve Fossett, a Washington University alumnus, to prematurely end his fifth attempt at becoming the first person to circumnavigate the globe in a solo hot-air balloon.
Fossett landed his balloon Solo Spirit in Bage, Brazil, 90 miles from the Atlantic coast after traveling 13 days since taking off from Northam, West Australia. His trip, which took him more than halfway around the world, set records for longest solo flight, in both time (12 days, 10 hours) and distance (12,615 miles). Fossett is also the first balloonist to cross over five oceans.
WU served as Fossett’s mission control center, with meteorologists and other staff members on call 24 hours a day, tracking the flight. WU served as mission control in Fossett’s previous flights attempts at well.
Fossett and mission control made the decision to end the flight Friday morning after forecasting three more days of storms over the Atlantic, which threatened to rupture the balloon and injure Fossett. Fossett landed at the first opportunity on open land to avoid a water landing. His previous attempt in 1998 ended with such a water landing in the Coral Sea off the east coast of Australia.
During a news conference at mission control in Brookings, Fossett told reporters by phone that the experience was “one of the greatest disappointments of my life.”
“We made all the proper preparations for this balloon flight,” said Fossett. “I had the team backing me up and the right equipment and the personal experience to do this.It’s a huge disappointment. Then I felt I’ve had many disappointments, so it doesn’t loom quite as heavy on me anymore.”
Fossett’s current mission was originally slated to launch from Kalgoorlie, West Australia in early June, although weather patterns delayed the launch several weeks. As the crew inflated the balloon and other preparations were nearly complete, a huge gust of wind tore the balloon. By early July, the balloon’s English manufacturers had flown to Australia to literally sew up the balloon.
An avid sports enthusiast, Fossett holds many titles in yachting and race car driving, although it is the round-the-world record that has received much of his attention for the past decade.
“The Round the World solo would have been the greatest satisfaction of my life,” he said. “There’s a lot of achievements behind me, but I’ve failed to get that capstone achievement.”
Although the decision to end the journey was difficult to make-and to stomach-mission control agrees that landing was the only safe resolution.
“There comes a point when even by round the world balloonists’ standards the risk is too high,” said Joe Ritchie, mission control director and Fossett’s friend. “He just decided that that point had come. I think if a round the world balloonist decides the risks are too high, then us mortals would surely agree.”
Chief meteorologist Bob Rice said he weighed all of the options carefully with others in mission control and with Fossett before making a final decision.
“There was sort of a Y in the road,” said Rice. “If we went one way, to the northeast, there was a great danger of the balloon just being put into a drifting flight where there was no particular direction.”
The other option was to fly at a lower altitude and head towards Capetown, South Africa, Rice said. But this would have exposed Fossett to harsh weather. Both options proved questionable and, in the end, landing was the only sure solution.
Had Solo Spirit made it safely through the storms, success would not have been guaranteed because of the small amount of oxygen left onboard the balloon. Fossett did high-altitude training in Colorado for several months prior to his departure, but oxygen consumption surpassed what was anticipated. However, mission control said oxygen was not a factor in the decision to end the mission.
Even after landing, Fossett’s mission continued. Fossett’s crew, including project manager Tim Cole, was detained at Sao Paulo’s Cumbica International Airport because they did not have the required visas to enter Brazil. The group traveled to Buenos Aires, Argentina, hoping to get the proper documents. Meanwhile, news agencies report that Fossett is currently staying in a hotel in Bage. Once pilot and crew reunite, they will assess the damage to the balloon and prepare it for transport.
Fossett and mission control declined to comment on the possibility of future attempts.
To contact Emily Fredrix, email her at [email protected].