Fossett’s happy landing

MANSTON, England – Fighting through sleep deprivation, severe turbulence and a last gasp emergency landing, Steve Fossett broke the record for the longest nonstop flight in aviation history.

The 61-year-old adventurer piloted his lightweight experimental plane, Virgin Atlantic Global Flyer, to set a new record of 26,389 miles in about 76 hours despite a complete electronic failure that threatened to turn his glorious return into a nightmare.

Fossett put emergency landing procedures into action when a generator light started to flash upon his descent.

The mechanical crisis forced him to land Saturday at Bournemouth International Airport, in southern England, instead of his planned landing point in nearby Kent, where hundreds of well-wishers were gathered to greet him.

“He burst two tires on landing and the poor Global Flyer had to be dragged off the runway,” said Steve Ridgway, chief executive of Virgin Atlantic, the company sponsoring Fossett’s record bid.

Ground control confirmed Fossett had broken the distance record of 24,987 miles as his plane flew over Shannon, Ireland, after crossing the Atlantic, his ground team said.

That eclipsed the 1986 record set by the lightweight Voyager aircraft, piloted by Dick Rutan and Jeana Yeager. It also beats the balloon record of 25,361 miles set in 1999 by the Breitling Orbiter 3.

Fossett arrived at Kent International Airport on a private jet alongside the billionaire Virgin Atlantic owner Sir Richard Branson, where he was greeted by his wife, Peggy, and rapturous applause from the assembled crowd.