Balloonists to Land in Guinness Book of World Records

Richard Branson and Per Lindstrand will be enrolled in the Guinness Book of World Records as the first hot-air balloonists to cross the Atlantic, despite their crash landing at sea, an official said Saturday.

Whether their Thursday-Friday flight meets the more exacting standards of the International Aeronautics Federation is another matter.

“They are the first to cross. It was a phenomenal feat,” said Guinness marketing executive Anna Nicolson. She said they also broke three other records that would go in the book: for the largest hot-air balloon, the fastest-traveling hot-air balloon and the longest distance flown by a hot-air balloon.

“They have undoubtedly flown across the Atlantic in a hot-air balloon, and I don’t think there’s any question about that,” agreed Nigel Tasker, secretary of the International Ballooning Committee of the Paris-based International Aeronautics Federation, which decides aviation records.

But Tasker said the federation has no record for crossing the Atlantic, only a world distance record that has two specific rules: No one may leave the craft until final landing, and the balloon must remain under control until final landing.

Landed Off Scottish Coast

The 21-story-tall Virgin Atlantic Flyer made an out-of-control touchdown in the Irish Sea off the Scottish coast on Friday.

The Swedish-born Lindstrand jumped from the gondola an hour before the crash, and Branson, a 36-year-old British millionaire, moments before impact. Both were plucked from the water, suffering shock but not seriously injured.

Spokesmen for Branson said the balloon flew 2,789.6 miles to a brief touchdown in Ireland before crashing into the sea, with an average speed of 87.7 m.p.h. They said the flight, begun in Maine, took 31 hours and 38 minutes.

Tasker said Lindstrand as senior pilot must first file a claim for the British distance record. He said the federation will then decide if he broke the hot-air balloon world distance record of 913.8 miles, “and that will take weeks.”

Branson’s press office said Saturday that papers will be filed Monday with the federation for the official distance record.

Nicholson said as far as Guinness is concerned, the records would stand, providing the balloonists filed verification of the times, distances, and the fact that they touched down briefly before crashing.

Rivals Challenge Claim

But rival British balloonists Don Cameron and Jim Howard said the circumstances of the ditching just off the Mull of Kintyre peninsula could keep Branson and Lindstrand from claiming the title.

“The rules require that you land the aircraft safely at the end of the flight, and they haven’t been able to do that,” said Howard.

Cameron and Howard on Saturday called off their own attempt to cross the Atlantic in a hot-air balloon after an accident with propane fuel tanks at their Canadian launch site in St. John’s, Newfoundland.

Relaxing on Saturday after their two-day journey and brush with death, Branson and Lindstrand chatted with reporters at a luxury hotel at Irvine in Strathclyde, Scotland, where they were reunited with their families.

Lindstrand, 38, said he still did not know why a button that should have released the balloon from the capsule failed to work, making it impossible to land properly.

‘These Small Percentages’

“It’s always these small percentages that are going to catch you out,” he said before leaving to attend a wedding.

Branson, head of the Virgin Atlantic airline and recording empire and one of Britain’s richest men, said that as the balloon was plummeting out of control above the Irish Sea, he scrawled a note to his girlfriend, Joan Templeman, saying, “Love you.”

Tears streamed down his face as he recalled how he feared that Lindstrand was dead and fought with rescuers who refused to let him climb into a helicopter to search for his co-pilot. Lindstrand was in the water for 2 1/2 hours before being rescued.

When they were reunited, Branson said, both were shivering from exposure, but they threw their arms around each other “like two lovers.”

Branson, who was fished from the water during an unsuccessful 1985 attempt at a world-record Atlantic crossing in a powerboat, said this was the closest he’d ever come to death.

Liner’s Record Broken

In June, 1986, Branson piloted his speedboat Virgin Atlantic Challenger II across the Atlantic, cutting more than two hours off the record held by the American liner United States.

Branson said the balloon voyage was his last daredevil escapade.