AUSTRALIA: With a bumpy but safe landing in the Australian outback yesterday, US adventurer Mr Steve Fossett (58) completed his long quest to make the first solo balloon flight around the world and promptly said he was finished with the dangerous sport.
"I think the balloon flight's been the most dangerous thing I've ever been involved in," the Chicago tycoon said after his Spirit of Freedom touched down in the remote Lake Yamma Yamma region of Queensland around 7.30 a.m. local time after a flight lasting over 14 days.
"I've fulfilled my ambition in ballooning," Mr Fossett said. "I actually don't plan to make any more major balloon flights."
He said the landing followed one of the roughest nights of his trip, when the balloon was buffeted by severe turbulence and a small fire broke out after a burner hose on the Spirit of Freedom came loose.
"I was really worried about the last night. I was very fearful that things would go wrong and about three things did," he told a press conference in Sydney.
Far from planning a quiet retirement, Mr Fossett is already planning his next quest - a bid later this month to fly a glider into the stratosphere above 18,000 metres.