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The Spokesman-Review Newspaper
Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883

Up, Up … And Wait

Just hours after he rerouted his flight Saturday to avoid Libya, Steve Fossett got permission to fly over the North African country on his quest to be the first to pilot a balloon around the world. Team members, including mission director Alan Blount, above, were reevaluating their options to decide whether they should have Fossett seek wind currents that would carry him across Libya, whose hesitance to let the balloonist fly over its territory last year led to the failure of a global flight. Fossett’s trip aboard the Solo Spirit, a combination of helium and hot air balloons, is expected to last 15 to 20 days.