Geneva - Bertrand Piccard and his crew returned to Geneva yesterday after a failed bid to circle the globe by balloon which nonetheless notched up a flight duration record for the team.
Mr Piccard, his Belgian co-pilot, Wim Verstreaten, and the British flight engineer, Andy Elson arrived to a warm welcome from more than 200 people waiting at Geneva International Airport for the special flight from Burma.
The Brietling Orbiter 2's nine-day, three-minute, 44-second voyage from Chateau-d'Oex in Switzerland, set an endurance record for non-stop flight before touching down 8,473 km away in Oke Thwin Village, north of Yangon.