Two ballooning Brits have abandoned their quest to fly across the Atlantic Ocean after technical issues forced them to land in central Newfoundland Friday morning.
U.K. residents Mike and Deborah Scholes were safe and unharmed in Gander, N.L., on Friday afternoon. They had arrived by a search-and-rescue helicopter dispatched from Gander earlier that morning after their hot air balloon made an emergency landing in a remote, wooded area, said Dani Maimone, a spokesperson for the team behind the ScholesB次元官网网址� journey.
It was not a crash landing of any sort, Maimone emphasized in an interview. But the husband and wife team felt it would be unwise to continue flying.
B次元官网网址淓rring on the side of safety, they thought it would be much more acceptable to land on the ground and not in the ocean,B次元官网网址� Maimone said.
The Scholes lifted off from a New Brunswick field on Thursday morning in a Rozier hot air balloon, bound for the other side of the ocean. They hoped to cross the Atlantic in about six days, according to the website for their trip, called Transatlantic Balloon Challenge.
The balloonB次元官网网址檚 trajectory and landing spot was to be determined by the direction and speed of the winds. But after just 19 hours of flight, they were forced to make an emergency landing at 6:22 a.m. in NewfoundlandB次元官网网址檚 vast, forested interior.
B次元官网网址淭hereB次元官网网址檚 no roads there at all,B次元官网网址� Maimone said, explaining why a helicopter had to go get them. B次元官网网址淐anada is a big country with a lot of lakes and trees.B次元官网网址�
If their mission had been successful, Deborah Scholes would have been the first woman to captain a balloon across the Atlantic and Mike Scholes the first registered blind person to crew.
The Scholes were in good spirits in Gander, though they were exhausted after their flight, Maimone said. B次元官网网址淭heyB次元官网网址檙e an amazing, remarkable couple,B次元官网网址� she added. B次元官网网址淚t takes a lot to dampen their spirits, it really does.B次元官网网址�
As for whether theyB次元官网网址檒l attempt their transatlantic feat again, Maimone wasnB次元官网网址檛 sure. B次元官网网址淭hey have to kind of take stock and see what the situation is,B次元官网网址� she said, adding that their current attempt took years of planning. B次元官网网址淚f they do it again, it wonB次元官网网址檛 be any time this year; itB次元官网网址檚 not like they can pack it all up and go back to New Brunswick and start again next week.B次元官网网址�
The Scholes have been hot air ballooners for decades. Deborah Scholes holds an unofficial ballooning record for flying over the Alps at a height of more than seven kilometres, according to their website.Mike Scholes has twice won the Great British Long Jump long-distance ballooning competition.
He lost 85 per cent of his sight in 2007, the website says, after which he began training for marathons. He has since run more than a dozen marathons, with Deborah at his side as his sighted running partner.
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