The American millionaire, Steve Fossett, came down to earth in southern Russia, after abandoning his bid to fly non-stop around the world in a hot-air balloon. Mr Fossett's team blamed technical failures and poor winds. But this latest of many failures to make ballooning history has not deterred the enthusiasts, as Edmund Butler reports.

This is just the latest in a litany of ballooning failures in recent months. The dream of becoming the first person to circumnavigate the world by balloon has been captivating numerous adventurers from Europe and America.

Mr Fossett had been airborne since New Year's Eve, and had already spanned a third of the globe when problems set in while he flying over the Black Sea:

"I decided that I needed to land because my equipment wasn't going to make it around the world. I discovered the problems while I was still in Bulgaria but I was very close to the Black Sea and so I didn't have time to land in Bulgaria and then I had to fly that whole extra day and fortunately Russia issued me the official permission to land here. I have about two days of work to pack up the balloon equipment and then I am anxious to go home."

It's only twelve months since Steve Fossett last failed to fly round the world - that time he got as far as India before running out of fuel. Since then a British team, a Swiss and a Belgian pair, and two US teams have all aborted missions. All still seem to share the view that this is one of the last obvious feats of adventure to remain unconquered.

The fact that it's physically tough and very dangerous doesn't seem to concern those involved. Nor are they deflected by the complex political problems that always seem to occur. Steve Fossett has had an ongoing battle with the Libyan authorities to be allowed to enter their airspace. Three years ago an American balloon was actually shot down when the Belorussian airforce declared it a hostile threat.

So what is the appeal of transglobal ballooning? After one recent failure to beat the record, the British multi-millionaire, Richard Branson, described why he'd be coming back for more:

"There were definitely times where I said to myself, if I get out of this alive I will definitely thank someone for getting me out of this fix, and call it a day. Then about three hours later you start seeing the magnificence of the Sahara and the beautiful mountains, the dawn coming up, being somewhere which most people in the world have never seen... It's difficult to resist the whole fascination of that."

For an adventuring spirit, 52 year old Steve Fossett seems to outdo most of his competitors in the race to fly round the world. He's already swum across the English Channel, run the Boston Marathon and attempted to climb Mount Everest. He's also participated in the world's most famous long-distance motor races.

The fact that he's again failed to break the record will not, in all probability, deflect his ambition, according to his project spokesman, Fred Volkman, who today was resolutely looking on the bright side:

"Actually it's a success in many ways. Steve is already the record-holder for long-distance flight in a balloon. This is probably the second-longest flight. And also you learn a great deal from this flight. Steve and Mission Control will take what they've learnt from this event and they'll use it for any future attempts - if he decides to do so."

Before he tries again though, there will be other attempts. On Tuesday, two Americans are planning another take-off from the southern United States. On Thursday, a European team, manned by a Belgian, a Swiss and a Briton will set off from Switzerland. And if those attempts fail, Richard Branson says he'll be trying again later in the month.
 

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