Fossett begins decisive Atlantic crossing

Washington - Millionaire adventurer Steve Fossett crossed late Friday over the Atlantic Ocean on the last leg of his attempt to complete the world's farthest-ever flight. Virgin Atlantic Airways GlobalFlyer piloted by Steve Fossett moves down the runway past the midpoint of the Kennedy Space Center runway, Cape Canaveral, Florida, Wednesday, 08 February 2006. The aircraft lift-off was at 7:22am,est, at the 13,000 foot mark of the runway. EPA/GARY I ROTHSTEIN

Virgin Atlantic Airways GlobalFlyer piloted by Steve Fossett moves down the runway past the midpoint of the Kennedy Space Center runway, Cape Canaveral, Florida, Wednesday, 08 February 2006. The aircraft lift-off was at 7:22am,est, at the 13,000 foot mark of the runway. EPA/GARY I ROTHSTEINThe 61-year-old US businessman spent much of Friday over the southern United States, hugging the Mexican border and the Gulf Coast before reaching open water again off Florida shortly before 9 p.m. local time (0200 GMT Saturday) after 60 hours aloft. He is slated to next fly over land at Shannon, Ireland. If successful, Fossett will spend at least 80 hours in his ultra- light aircraft to break the 1986 record for the farthest flight, set at 40,212 kilometres by pilots Dick Rutan and Jeanne Yeager. Fossett took off Wednesday from Kennedy Space Centre at Cape Canaveral, Florida. Fuel shortages have made the Atlantic crossing risky. Mission control chief Kevin Stass, monitoring the flight from St. Louis, Missouri, said in a statement that the fuel supply would be 'a bit of nail biter.' 'But we're cautiously optimistic,' Stass said. An update on Fossett's website, www.virginatlanticglobalflyer.com, said that 'Tailwinds are OK.' Earlier reports were that little if any tailwinds were expected over the Atlantic, just as Fossett is running short of fuel on the home stretch. Early in the flight, Fossett endured extreme heat of more than 40 degrees celsius due to a cockpit ventilation malfunction, but the problem was resolved. He has already crossed the North Atlantic, North Africa, Saudi Arabia, India, China, Japan, the Pacific and the southern United States. He is charted to complete the a second Atlantic crossing and fly over Ireland to a landing Saturday evening at Britain's Kent International Airport, 120 kilometres east of London. © 2006 dpa - Deutsche Presse-Agentur