The American balloonist, Mr Steve Fossett, fearing for his life while flying through a "minefield of thunderstorms", abandoned his bid to circle the globe solo and had a rocky landing in a Brazilian cattle farm yesterday.
Rather than risk embarking on the next leg over the Atlantic Ocean, Mr Fossett put down close to the Uruguayan border in southern Brazil, safe after 13 days of treacherous travel but dismayed at the "greatest disappointment" of his life.
"I dragged for about a mile, bouncing along, and finally I used the cable cutters to cut the balloon away from the capsule," Mr Fossett said by telephone.
The decision to abort the round-the-world flight came after a night in which the millionaire adventurer dodged thunderstorms, some of which dumped snow and ice on the towering, silver balloon and threatened to tear it apart.
"I thought it was going to be isolated thunderstorms and it turned out to be a minefield of thunderstorms," Mr Fossett said. "I thought my life was in danger."
After he landed, he said local residents rushed out to help him, though the language barrier - he speaks neither Portuguese nor Spanish - was a hindrance. He said he would spend the night at the farm and that members of his team were heading to Brazil to meet him.
The decision to abandon one of the last remaining old-style aviation challenges came after Mr Fossett had made a slow crossing of the Pacific and a turbulent crossing of the Andes.