GENEVA -- A Swiss doctor and British pilot, riding friendly winds and their own dogged spirit, crossed an invisible line over the vast African desert Saturday and swept into immortality -- the first aviators to realize man's dream of circling the world in that fickle, fragile craft called a hot-air balloon.

"I am with the angels and just completely happy," said Bertrand Piccard by satellite relay shortly after conquering one of aviation's monumental challenges. "We are eternally grateful to the invisible hand that has guided us through this fantastic voyage.""It's just a fabulous way to finish," said British pilot Brian Jones as he guided the towering silver vessel in fast winds over North Africa and toward a probable landing in Egypt at dawn Sunday.

Jones said he had yet to have time to celebrate, but first, "I am going to phone to the control room and tell my wife I love her. And then I am going to have a cup of tea, like any good Englishman."

Spraying champagne over fellow control center members, flight director Alan Noble said, "I'm happy. I'm happy for everyone."

After 19 days aloft, the huge silver Breitling Orbiter 3 balloon floated over Mauritania past longitude 9 degrees west at 2:54 a.m. MST to complete the 26,000-mile-plus, nonstop circumnavigation, a feat that had challenged and eluded dozens of balloonists before them.

The balloon's control center said the team hoped to land near the oasis city of Bawiti in the western desert of Egypt, about 185 miles southwest of Cairo, shortly after daybreak Sunday. Forecast winds made dreams of landing near the pyramids impossible.

As evening fell, the record-breaking team was traveling an average of 124 mph over Algeria on its way to Libya and then its landing place.

Piccard, a 41-year-old psychiatrist who comes from a family of pioneers, used self-hypnosis throughout the flight to help cope with the tension. Jones, a 51-year-old balloon instructor and grandfather, relied on his rock-steady nerves.

But for all the dangers and difficulties of long-distance ballooning, the historic voyage was relatively uneventful.

The team lifted off from the snowy Swiss Alps on March 1, drifted down to the sands of North Africa, caught a jet stream and headed across the Arabian Desert, over teeming India and on to the lush green of Southeast Asia.

The treacherous Pacific Ocean crossing proved relatively smooth, accomplished in six days. East of Central America, seven miles high, the balloonists were trapped in a lazy spiral and developed temporary breathing problems in the deeply frigid air. But the 180-foot-high balloon soon caught a favorable jet stream that propelled them on their last leg, at 90 mph across the Atlantic.

Since U.S. publisher James Gordon Bennett established a trophy for long-distance ballooning in 1906, sportsmen have striven to fly the farthest, eventually setting their sights on a round-the-world flight. Americans Maxie Anderson and Don Ida made the first attempt in 1981, but flew only 2,676 miles, from Egypt to India.

This was the third attempt sponsored by the Swiss watch and precision instrument manufacturer Breitling, and the company had said it would be the last.

Breitling has refused to say how much money it has pumped into the project, but it is certainly many times more than the $1 million prize offered by brewer Anheuser-Busch for completing the global circuit.

Noble said the next step probably would be to stage a round-the-world balloon race, assuming funds could be found.

Two of the team's keenest rivals paid tribute.

View Comments

"It is a magnificent achievement and two delightful people have achieved it, and we look forward to going to Switzerland to celebrate it with them tomorrow," British tycoon Richard Branson told Sky television news.

American millionaire Steve Fossett, who had teamed with Branson in an attempt last December, said Jones and Piccard had won "one of the greatest competitions in aviation history."

This was Piccard's third attempt. Last year he was forced to ditch in Myanmar, also known as Burma, after his balloon was refused permission to cross China. This year the team delayed their departure until they got Beijing's approval.

Piccard's wife, Michelle, and his three small children were headed to Egypt to meet their hero. Jones' wife, Joanna, stayed in Geneva working with the control team.

Join the Conversation
Looking for comments?
Find comments in their new home! Click the buttons at the top or within the article to view them — or use the button below for quick access.