The ICO Global, with Richard Branson, Per Lindstrand
and Steve Fossett aboard, lifted into the early morning air at Marrakech,
Morocco on December 18. Over the next seven days the flight unfolded like
a soap opera. Each hurdle crossed was met by a new challenge.
First, Libya refused permission, as always, only to relent and allow the balloon to fly through its airspace.
Crossing the Mediterranean, Fossett awoke his team mates and had them pull on their parachutes, a thunderstorm was approaching. Steve had to be having flash backs to last summers terrifying plunge into the Pacific.
Bob Rice, meteorologist extraoridinare, directed the balloon through the narrowest of gates, a narrow corridor splitting three countries that had denied permission to fly through their airspaceIraq engaged in a war with the United States, Iran and Russia.
Past harms way the trio toured the "Stans" on their way to an unforgettable crossing of the Himalayas.
Next in their path lay China, a country that had only granted limited permission to fly over very southern and northern parts of the country. The jet stream, however, doesn't pay attention to these political requirements. If the flight had any chance of success the ICO Global had to fly through the heart of Chinese airspace.
Delicate negotiations finally allowed the ICO Global to traverse China. As much as the Chinese were gracious in allowing the flight to continue, in part because of safety for the pilots if they had to land on the Tibetan plateau, the ICO Global as much bluffed their way into and across China.
Only four countries had denied overflight permission before the launch. The fourth, North Korea, loomed on the flight horizon for the ICO team. After it was too late the North Korean gave the team unprecedented permission to cross their part of the peninsula. By then Bob Rice had ordered the balloon to a lower altitude resulting in a right turn taking the balloon across southern Japan and out into the wide Pacific.
Considered the most dangerous part of the trip, the jet stream over the Pacific promised a speedy flight. Bob Rice woke Mike Kendrick, head of operations, in the middle of the night with depressing news. The balloon was racing against time to cross the expansive body of water. Ahead lay a developing low pressure trough. Timing was everything, arriving in the eastern Pacific ahead of the trough would result in a fast crossing of the North American continent and a possible landing in the United Kingdom. Missing the window of opportunity meant stalling out in the Pacific for a week or more.
In the end the balloon was not able to escape the fate of the low pressure system. Choosing not to risk a chance of being stranded a thousand miles or more from rescue a week later the team made a water landing ten miles from the Hawaiian Island of Oahu.
When the explosive bolts did not fire to release the envelope, shades of the Virgin Atlantic Flyer, the crew members bailed out and were immediately picked up by the U.S. Coast Guard. The capsule was lost when a private salvage effort did not reach the downed aerostat in time.
The flight captivated the world. Four million hits to the ICO web site the first day crashed the Java flight tracking software. During the week long odyssey it is estimated that the web site received 60 million page views.
What a great adventure. Balloon Life will provide a more in-depth review of the flight next month.
