French ballooning team goes the distance to finish ahead in prestigious long-distance race

Published October 11, 2023 5:01 PM

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (AP) — Spending more than three and a half days aloft and traveling more than 1,653 miles, a French ballooning team has traveled the farthest in the world’s oldest and most prestigious air race. Pilots Eric Decellières and Benoît Havret landed Wednesday just shy of the North Carolina coast. They and 15 other teams launched from Albuquerque during the opening weekend of an international balloon fiesta. This marked the fifth time the fiesta hosted the Gordon Bennett Cup. Two pilots from Poland continue to recover in Texas, where their balloon caught fire and crashed after hitting a high-voltage power line while competing.

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