Two Eagles Balloon Lands in Mexico After Crossing the Pacific Ocean in a Record Time

Two Eagles Balloon landed on Saturday just off the Baja coast near La Poza Grande in Mexico, at six days, 16 hours and 37 minutes into the mission after taking off from Saga, Japan, on Sunday 25 January. The pilots Troy Bradley and Leonid Tiukhtyaev made a controlled descent to a gentle water landing about four miles off the Baja coast.  They have been picked up by a fishing boat and taken to shore.

Subject to ratification by the FAI, the Two Eagles team claims to have surpassed both the distance and duration records for gas balloons.

If officially recognised by the FAI, the team’s distance of 6,646 miles (10,696 km) would surpass the existing record of 5,208 miles (8,383 km), set by Double Eagle V pilots Ben Abruzzo, Larry Newman, Ron Clark, and Rocky Aoki in 1981, by 27%.  The team stayed aloft for 160 hours, 38 minutes (6 days, 16 hours, 38 minutes), besting by 17% the previous record of 137 hours, 5 minutes, 50 seconds set in 1978 by Ben Abruzzo, Maxie Anderson, and Larry Newman aboard the Double Eagle II. 

To ratify the record, the FAI must be officially notified that the flight was successful and provided with basic details of the performance within seven days of the performance, and then receive a complete dossier containing the original evidence by the U.S. National Aeronautic Association.

More information on the Two Eagles Balloon in available on the Team's website.

(Photo credits: Two Eagles Balloon Team; Contrastes de Comundo)