The American adventurer, Steve Fossett, has landed his hot-air balloon safely in Australia after making the first solo non-stop flight around the world.
The 58-year-old millionaire touched down in a remote area of Queensland, which means that his record can now be validated. Strong winds had delayed the landing by about 36 hours.
The landing followed one of the roughest nights of the trip. Fossett's Spirit of Freedom balloon was hit by severe turbulence, and a small fire broke out on board.
Fossett said that the balloon's gondola "bounced and dragged" for three miles along the ground as he tried to deflate the towering canopy. It finally came to rest on its side, and Fossett emerged uninjured except for a bloodied mouth. "It was a very dangerous situation on the landing," he said.
Undeterred, he is already planning his next challenge. He will bid later this month to fly a glider into the stratosphere above 59,000 feet.
The gondola from the Spirit of Freedom is set to be displayed alongside Charles Lindburgh's Spirit of St Louis at the Smithsonian Institution in the United States. Lindburgh completed his record-breaking transatlantic flight in 1927.
