ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1997, Roanoke Times
DATE: Thursday, January 9, 1997 TAG: 9701100039
SECTION: NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL PAGE: A-6 EDITION: METRO
DATELINE: LONDON
SOURCE: The Washington Post
THE HELIUM-FILLED BALLOON had encountered problems from the start Tuesday in Morocco when it ascended too high, to 30,000 feet, too fast.
British tycoon Richard Branson's attempt to go around the world in 18 days in a balloon ended in the Algerian desert after a near-death experience Wednesday morning - 19 hours after it began.
Branson, flamboyant owner of the Virgin business empire, which includes Virgin Atlantic Airways, was saved only by the daredevil actions of one of his two companions, who climbed outside the balloon, jettisoned ballast and kept the Virgin Challenger from rapidly descending into a mountain range.
The exact details of the near-disaster were unclear Wednesday night, except that, as Branson said, ``Everything went wrong.''
The helium-filled balloon had encountered altitude-control problems from the moment of its launch Tuesday at 11:19 a.m. local time in Morocco (7:19 a.m. EST) when it ascended too high, to 30,000 feet, too fast, according to Branson's London control and publicity center.
The crew then spent the early morning hours on a roller coaster ride - bouncing around the pitch-black sky variously at 30,000 feet, 10,000 feet, 3,000 feet and then back up to 25,000 feet, sometimes soaring and dropping at high speed. Branson aides here suggested that the problem was one of balancing the helium and propane devices with the ballast system, mechanisms that control the rise and fall of balloons.
By 1 a.m., Branson told reporters in London via satellite telephone, they knew they would have to abort the journey - at a cost of $5 million - some 400 miles into it. But as they prepared to do so, ``we experienced a sudden drop,'' Branson said. ``We were in danger of coming down too quickly in the Saharan Atlas mountain range.''
At one point, Branson said, ``I was standing in the door,'' with co-pilot Alex Ritchie ``passing me things - bottles, food, oil, everything - to dump out through the door to try to stop the descent,'' which he said reached 2,500 feet per minute.
Ritchie, one of the balloon designers who had been substituted at the last minute for an ill co-worker, climbed out onto the pressurized capsule wearing a parachute and straps securing him to the fuselage, and jettisoned two heavy tanks. That slowed the descent and allowed the Virgin Challenger to settle at about 7:25 a.m. in the desert of northwest Algeria, beyond the mountain range.
``The Eagle has landed,'' Branson told his London team after touching down. He said there was no damage to the capsule, but the crew was shaken up. ``It feels like we have landed on the moon,'' he said. ``Everyone is tired.''
Ritchie ``showed unbelievable bravery by climbing onto the roof to release ballast to slow our descent,'' Branson said. ``He was on the top of the capsule for five minutes, held on only by tank straps. I truly believe that Alex saved our lives.''
Thus ended Branson's second round-the-world balloon attempt. The first, last year, was canceled because of bad weather.
LENGTH: Medium: 65 lines ILLUSTRATION: PHOTO: AP. Horse riders holding British and Moroccan flagsby CNBwatch the hot air balloon of Virgin tycoon Richard Branson as he
takes off Tuesday for his second attempt to circumnavigate the
globe.