After 19 hours of flying in a helium balloon, U.K. husband and wife team Mike and Deborah Scholes were forced to make a controlled landing in Newfoundland, ending their transatlantic trip.
The Transatlantic Balloon Challenge said a technical issue with their balloon made it unwise for them to continue across the Atlantic and a further 3,000 kilometres to Europe.
A statement said the couple put safety first and elected to land while still overhead Newfoundland and touched down safely just south of Meelpaeg Lake on Friday morning.
The Scholes had lifted off from Sussex in their specially-built Cameron Rozière balloon shortly before 10 a.m. on Thursday.
Although greatly disappointed not to complete their journey, the statement indicated this is just a setback for this intrepid couple and has not dampened their adventurous spirits.
The couple had hoped to set a couple of world firsts during the journey – Deborah as the first woman pilot to captain a balloon across the Atlantic and Mike as the first registered blind person as crew.
