Fossett flies 42,000km non-stop

LONDON - Millionaire adventurer Steve Fossett has broken the record for long-distance flight without refuelling, making an emergency landing in southern England after flying 42,450km, his team said.

Fossett, a 61-year-old American, landed his specially designed GlobalFlyer aircraft -- with a wingspan as wide as an 11-storey building is tall -- at Bournemouth airport.

He was welcomed by Virgin Atlantic's Richard Branson, who has also attempted the record trip.

Fossett had been due to land at another airport, in the county of Kent, but was forced to land early because of trouble with the generator on board, spokeswoman Anna Knowles said.

He took off on Wednesday from Florida and flew a full trip eastward around the world, before crossing the Atlantic a second time on the last leg.

The flight was enough to beat the ballooning distance record set in 1999 by Brian Jones and Bertrand Piccard, as well as the 1986 distance record in a plane, set by Dick Rutan and Jeana Yeager on a nine-day flight in 1986.

"He has broken the record," Knowles said.

Fossett took GlobalFlyer to an altitude of about 13,720m to take advantage of the high-speed jetstream flowing west to east over the Northern Hemisphere.

- REUTERS