BRITISH BALLOONIST DAVID HEMPLEMAN-ADAMS FORCED TO LAND IN MASSACHUSETTS
29-Jun-03
THE BANK OF IRELAND ATLANTIC CHALLENGE
2003
IN ASSOCIATION WITH
THE SPECIAL OLYMPICS WORLD GAMES
Flight Control Centre, Bristol, UK June 29th,
2003-British Balloonist David Hempleman-Adams has
landed the Bank of Ireland Atlantic Challenger 2003 in a field in
Massachusetts this morning (9:10 Zulu, 10:10 British Summer Time,
5:10 eastern standard time, 30 hours and 53 minutes since taking
off from Pittsburgh) on his attempt to cross the Atlantic solo in
an AM-08 Roziere balloon with an open wicker basket.
The reason for the landing is that the weather conditions have changed dramatically. The flight director determined that the wind track that David Hempleman-Adams was on would have taken him more than 8 days to cross the Atlantic. He only had enough fuel for a maximum of 7 days. The distance record for this class of balloon is currently 6 days.
David Hempleman-Adams managed to land the balloon safely in a field
in Hardwick near Ware Massachusetts, 25 kilometres west of Worchester,
70 kilometres due west of Boston. This is 8 kilometres from where
he had to land last year. The balloon and equipment are both safe
and David Hempleman-Adams has eaten breakfast with the farmer.
"Due to decreasing wind speeds, what had been projected as
a maximum of 7 days flight would have become a 10 or even 11 day
flight. This would have raised the probability of David Hempleman-Adams
being forced to ditch in the Atlantic", says Dr David Owen,
Flight Director.
"The World endurance record for this category
of balloon is currently 6 days. We had planned to aim for a maximum
of 7 days, which was in line with meteorological reports at the
time of launch.
The balloon landed safely approximately 3 hours
before it was due to cross the New England coast. It would have
been unwise to have allowed David to commence his Atlantic crossing
when the duration of the flight could have exceeded the endurance
capability of the balloon.
Obviously David is very disappointed, but true to the ethos of the Special Olympics World Games, he is determined to persevere and try again."
For further information:
Mike Gutsell
Atlantic Challenge Media Centre, Bristol, UK
Tel: 0044 117 9437199
Alex Foley or Anna Thomsen
Tel: (0)20 7352 3144
M: (0)7976 713478
Email:alex@alexfoleypr.com
Nicky Webster
M: (0)7742 665 428
Email:nicky@coldclimates.co.uk
Bank of Ireland
Miriam O'Connor
Tel: (01) 6043677
M: (087) 2903167