Balloonists safe after scratching transatlantic-crossing bid in Newfoundland
CBC
A British couple's attempt at a transatlantic balloon flight came to a disappointing, but safe, end on Friday morning.
Deborah and Mike Scholes were forced by a technical problem to land after 19 hours of flying, according to a statement issued by their team.
It was a safe, controlled landing, the statement said.
The technical problem would have complicated the Scholes's attempt to fly another 3,220 kilometres to Europe, so they chose to land while over Newfoundland, touching down just south of Meelpaeg Lake in the centre of the island.
According to Bill Whalen, who was the launch director in Sussex, the couple have made it safely to Gander, N.L., home to an international airport.
The couple are "greatly disappointed" not to complete the voyage, the statement said, but consider this just a setback.
The couple from the south of England had begun their balloon adventure Thursday morning, lifting off from Sussex in southern New Brunswick, with the intent of landing somewhere in Spain.
On Thursday morning, they said there was a chance they would not continue the journey across the Atlantic Ocean if they felt there were any problems.
As with any long-distance flight, Deborah said before leaving, there might come a time to decide whether to continue to fly or not, and they planned to make that call before fully venturing over the Atlantic Ocean.
"Your aircraft has to be right," she said, "and I don't know until we take off."
The couple were supposed to set off for Europe in April, bound for France, but they've been faced with a multitude of delays.
The delays ran the gamut from the mundane, such as poor weather, which the province has seen a lot of recently, to the bizarre — French military exercises.
The couple worked with a meteorologist to help time their ocean crossing with favourable conditions.
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