Gone with the wind

But in London cheers erupted in the controlroom as news came through that all three men were safe and well and out of the capsule. Before touching down the craft attempted a 8220;controlled landing8221; 8212; skimming along the water and touching down twice.

A Coast Guard C130 Hercules cargo plane escorted the balloon on the last leg of its journey and Coast Guard cutters Washington and Kukui were also involved in the rescue operation. The balloon was forced down by bad weather and winds taking it south, rather than east, officials at the ICO Global Challenge headquarters in London said. 8220;The weather has beaten us,8221; said project director Mike Kendrick. 8220;We were beset with all sorts of problems from the beginning when we launched in Marrakesh but they were all political,8221; Branson said.

8220;In the end, a weather problem is what stopped us but that is the nature of ballooning.8221; 8220;We raced across the Pacific in winds of up to 200 miles per hour 320 kmph but ended up hitting a solid trough from one end to the other,8221; Branson said.

8220;It hasbeen like hitting up against a solid brick wall.8221; 8220;As of yesterday, our forecast track was a landing in England in three days, such were the strengths of the winds,8221; he said. But with the trough, those plans were dashed. 8220;All day and all night we battled to get through it,8221; he said. 8220;Our weather team say that it would have taken us a week to get through if we are lucky 8212; but by the end of the week we would more likely end up in the Pacific anyway.8221;

Branson said the crew was 8220;sorry to have let you down8221; and wished everyone a happy Christmas. The mission support team said the balloon had been moving very slowly around 320 km off the coast of Hawaii at a height of 17,600 feet.And as the balloon lost speed it sank too low to regain the necessary altitude and was running out of the fuel needed to keep it aloft and heat the cabin.

Until now, most of the problems the team encountered have been diplomatic.They had to avoid Iraq as the United States and Britain bombed it, then steer clear of Russia andNorth Korea, and managed to talk their way through Chinese air space after drifting into a restricted area over Tibet.

But the diplomatic wrangling left China angry and authorities in Beijing said alL such further balloon flights would be banned, a move that could effectively eliminate any competitors seeking to follow in Branson8217;s wake.

Both Branson and Fossett, a Chicago stockbroker, have failed in previous bids for the record. Fossett crashed in the Coral Sea off northeast Australia during an attempt earlier this year while in 1996 Branson made a forced landing in Algeria less than 24 hours after take-off.

Last year his balloon broke free from its moorings while it was being inflated.