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Fossett Completes Non-Stop, Round-the-World Solo Flight


Adventurer Steve Fossett has become the first person to fly around the world alone without stopping or re-fueling.

Mr. Fossett landed his GlobalFlyer plane in the central U.S. town of Salina, Kansas, at 1948 UTC Thursday.

The 60-year-old pilot covered some 37,000 kilometers on his flight, which started in Salina nearly three days ago.

Mr. Fossett and his mission control team considered abandoning the flight Wednesday when they discovered the plane apparently was missing some 1,200 kilograms of fuel. But the team decided to press ahead because of strong tailwinds that enabled the plane to conserve fuel.

The first two-person global flight without refueling was made in 1986. One of the pilots on that flight was Dick Rutan, brother of GlobalFlyer designer Burt Rutan.

Some information for this report provided by Reuters and AP.

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