Despite Fuel Crisis, Fossett Heads Across Pacific Ocean

Pilot Steve Fossett (left), Sir Richard Branson, the project's reserve pilot, and aircraft designer, Burt Rutan stand with GlobalFlyer in hangar. Credit: Virgin Atlantic

GlobalFlyer en route, as seen from a chase plane during the attempt in early March, 2005 to set a globe-circling record. Credit: Virgin Atlantic

Officials: Fuel 'Simply Disappears'

A plane attempting the first around-the-world, non-stop, solo flight is running out of fuel as it crosses the Pacific Ocean on its final leg.

Adventurer and aviator Steve Fossett has passed the half-way point in his quest to fly the Virgin Atlantic's GlobalFlyer into the record books. But mission control at the plane's departure and landing site in Salina, Kansas, has confirmed that the fuel onboard "appeared to be drastically lower than was expected at that point in the record attempt."

The mission's objective hangs in the balance.

There are two ways of reading fuel load onboard the Virgin Atlantic GlobalFlyer: fuel-burn sensors and fuel probes in the tanks.

After a long and exhausting night of checks and rechecks, fuel burn sensors and probes were showing "significant discrepancies," explained a Virgin Atlantic update made available to LiveScience.

Discussions between Fossett and mission control have led to a throat-gulping realization:

Early fuel indications had not given an accurate reading on the actual amount of fuel onboard. In fact, the lower of these two readings, from the probes, were the accurate indicators.

It is not yet clear whether the problem is due to the gauge incorrectly indicating the amount of fuel onboard or if it was a loss of fuel due to leakage.

The aircraft took off with a hefty load of fuel, 18,100 pounds, and it appears that within the first 3.5 hours of flight 2,600 pounds of fuel "simply disappeared," according to a press statement today.

Currently the fuel onboard, at just over the half-way mark of the around the globe sojourn, is estimated to be 5,500 pounds.

Now under investigation are a variety of scenarios to get Fossett and the Virgin Atlantic GlobalFlyer back home to Salina, Kansas safely and still winging to a landing with a world record in hand.

One alternative is routing the high-flying craft further south. The second prospect is to continue with the current route, relying on the speed of the jet streams across the Pacific - a tactic that maximizes remaining fuel. But this approach means Fossett will be at the mercy of the winds.

Later today, the GlobalFlyer team will have to decide if it's go or no go when the aircraft reaches the coast of Japan. At that point the plane begins the long journey across the largest ocean in the world - the Pacific.

"This is huge set back. To think we might not have enough fuel for the remainder of the flight," radioed Fossett to mission control.

The is not Fossett's first global adventure. In 2002, he navigated around the world in a balloon. He holds records in aviation and sailing.

"I immediately started to think of alternatives, possibly a route over Mexico for example or how far I could glide," he said. "I have not that high a level of confidence at this point. There are still significant hurdles to overcome - not least being the fact that the success of this flight is now down to the calculation of the winds. Also the fear that unforeseen problems in the fuel redistribution from the tips of the wings, which we have yet to undertake...is a worry," Fossett radioed.

Jon Karkow, chief engineer for the Virgin Atlantic GlobalFlyer aircraft, explained:

"This issue is extremely concerning as it will be weighing heavily on Steve's mind and has put the record attempt in jeopardy," Karkow explained. There are grueling hours ahead, he added.

GlobalFlyer was engineered by Burt Rutan, the man behind SpaceShipOne, which last year won the Ansari X Prize for suborbital flight. The new plane is financed by Sir Richard Branson, chairman of Virgin Atlantic.