The latest attempt to fly a balloon non-stop around the world had to be postponed when lifting bolts on the capsule broke.

The Breitling Orbiter 2 capsule had arrived without incident at the launch site in Switzerland on Thursday.

The damaged section

Then as it was being lifted off the low-loader delivery truck by a crane during the afternoon, one of the steel bolts that were to be used to attach the capsule to the balloon sheared off.

Had the damage occurred at altitude, it could have sent the gondola plummeting to the ground -- and almost certain death for its crew of three: Swiss and Belgian pilots Bertrand Piccard and Wim Verstraeten and British flight engineer Andy Elson.

The fall of only a few inches caused some damage to the burners and the rigging.

Bertrand Piccard: "We'll try again"

Engineers say they cannot understand why the accident happened. They say there was a large safety margin in their calculations about the load that would be placed on the cables and fittings.

There is no serious structural damage to the body of the capsule and repairs are expected to take about six days.

The team hope to have another launch opportunity on January 16.

Back to top | BBC News Home | BBC Homepage	©