Balloonists safe after scratching transatlantic-crossing bid in Newfoundland

A British couple's attempt at a transatlantic balloon flight came to a disappointing, but safe end on Friday morning.

Deborah and Mike Scholes were forced by technical problems to land after 19 hours of flying, according to a statement issued by their team. More information on the nature of the technical problem is not yet available.

It was a safe, controlled landing, the statement said.

The problem would have complicated the Scholes's attempt to fly another 3,220 kilometres to Europe, so they chose to land while over Newfoundland, touching down just south of Meelpaeg Lake in the centre of the island. 

According to Bill Whalen, who was the launch director in Sussex, the couple made it safely to Gander, N.L., home to an international airport. 

The couple are "greatly disappointed" not to complete the voyage, the statement said, but consider this just a setback.

Robin Batchelor, a balloon pilot in Oxford, England, who is the transatlantic team's media co-ordinator, was tracking the balloon carefully early Friday and watching mission control's group chat.

He doesn't know yet what went wrong, but says Deborah was very confident in the helium-powered balloon.

"Every time you prepare the balloon for flight, you virtually do a complete certificate of airworthiness inspection," said Batchelor. "And the look on their faces back at that launch site, they were completely comfortable with the state of the balloon and everything was correct."

He said Deborah had arranged for a drone to fly over the balloon to ensure the important valve at the top of it was sealed. 

He said she tried to land overnight, but the darkness, combined with what they realized was a power line running along a nearby road, made her climb again to wait for daylight.

Deborah mentioned being low on propane, but was still in control of the balloon, he said.

The lower winds started to push her out to sea so she climbed back to 10,000 feet, or more than 3,000 metres, where he said she was able to stay closer to Newfoundland.

"We began to advise her to head all the way to Gander," said Batchelor. "Because by then it would have been sunrise and she could see where she was going."

He said the team watched their detailed tracker closely and some members were in touch with Deborah, but while she was landing, they let her focus.

He said they landed in a remote area and someone from the team contacted someone in Gander who was able to pick them up by helicopter.

Batchelor said he hasn't spoken to the Scholes yet, but their next step is likely equipment retrieval.

"The balloon itself is made of fabric," he said. "It's very heavy. It'll probably take about four or five people to lift the bag it gets stuffed back into.Then there's a basket and a birder and, I think, about 12 or 13 stainless steel propane tanks."

WATCH | See how Deborah and Mike Scholes launched their transatlantic bid Thursday from New Brunswick: 

After weeks of delays, transatlantic balloon flight takes off

2 years ago

Duration 1:44

Mike and Deborah Scholes on Thursday morning launched on their journey from Sussex to Spain. If the trip is a success, the couple will set two records.

The couple from the south of England began their balloon adventure Thursday morning, lifting off from Sussex in southern New Brunswick, with the intent of landing somewhere in Spain.

On Thursday morning, they said there was a chance they would not continue the journey across the Atlantic Ocean if they felt there were any problems.

As with any long-distance flight, Deborah said before leaving, there might come a time to decide whether to continue to fly or not, and they planned to make that call before fully venturing over the Atlantic Ocean.

"Your aircraft has to be right," she said, "and I don't know until we take off."

The couple were supposed to set off for Europe in April, bound for France, but they've been faced with a multitude of delays.

The delays ran the gamut from the mundane, such as poor weather, which the province has seen a lot of recently, to the bizarre — French military exercises.

The couple worked with a meteorologist to help time their ocean crossing with favourable conditions.