Missing US Balloonists 'Likely To Be Dead'

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Missing US Balloonists 'Likely To Be Dead'

11:26pm Sat October 02, 2010
Graham Fitzgerald

Two missing US balloonists are believed to be dead after their craft suffered "a sudden and unexpected failure" over the Adriatic.

Two balloons take off at the start of the race, the oldest of its kind in the world

Organisers of the 54th Gordon Bennett Gas Balloon Racesay Richard Abruzzo, 47, and Carol Rymer Davis, 65, were almost certainly killed in a tragic accident. The US pair have been missing since Wednesday morning when race organisers lost contact with them as they were flying between Italy and Croatia. US and Croatian search and rescue teams joined a huge search for the Americans, led by the Italian coastguard.

Croatian coastal aircraft crews are scouring the area around the uninhabited islet of Palagruza, 29 nautical miles off the coast of Italy. Organisers said they had analysed data from tracking units in the Adriatic shortly before contact was lost and believe something terrible had happened.

Ballooning has so many variables, you can't give up hope, there are so many things that could have happened.
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<cite> Nancy Abruzzo, wife of balloonist Richard
</cite>
A race spokesman said: "The data show that the balloon had a moderate descent rate initially which then increased into a high rate of descent, to around 50mph. "This is very pessimistic information. At this rate of descent to the surface, survival would be unlikely. "It is the opinion of the Gordon Bennett 2010 flight control team that the balloon appears to have suffered a sudden and unexpected failure."

Mr Abruzzo's sister-in-law, Sandra Abruzzo, of Albuquerque, New Mexico, said she had been told the balloonists had suffered "an issue with the electrical" components. Earlier his wife Nancy said she firmly believed they would be found safe and well. "Ballooning has so many variables, you can't give up hope, there are so many things that could have happened," she said.

Mr Hempleman-Adams, who holds several world records, found the going tough

The Americans, who won the race in 2004, were among 20 teams including British adventurer David Hempleman-Adams that took off from Bristol on Saturday. Wiltshire-based Hempleman-Adams and Virgin Airline captain Simon Carey came third having travelled 2,009km (1255 miles).

They said they endured freezing temperatures and hair-raising moments in the tiny balloon basket, which is just 1.2 metres square. Pilots from 12 countries, including six from the UK, took part in the annual race, which was first organised by James Gordon Bennett Junior in 1906. The rules are simple: Take off from a fixed point and fly as far as you can on one fill of hydrogen.

 

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Italian Coast Guard officers inspect gear recovered off the southern Adriatic sea, Friday, Oct. 1, 2010. On the eve of a major world balloon festival came word that two of the sport's most acclaimed pilots were missing in a European race, leaving friends and colleagues in the tight-knit community fearful but holding out hope that they would turn up safe. Veteran pilots Richard Abruzzo and Carol Rymer Davis were participating in the 54th Gordon Bennett Gas Balloon Race when contact was lost Wednesday morning over the Adriatic Sea. Since then, search and rescue teams with the Italian coast guard, the U.S. Navy and Croatian coastal aircraft crews have been scouring the area around Croatia's distant, uninhabited islet of Palagruza. The search continued Friday, but pilots gathered at the Albuquerque International Balloon Fiesta acknowledged the mood was somber.​

 

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This image provided by Robin Macey shows balloonists Carol Rymer Davis, left, and Richard Abruzzo launching for the Gordon Bennett gas balloon race at Bristol, England, on Saturday Sept. 25, 2010. Abruzzo and Davis were participating in the 54th Gordon Bennett Gas Balloon Race when contact was lost Wednesday morning, Sept. 29, 2010, over the Adriatic Sea.​

 

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Nancy Abruzzo, wife of veteren pilot Richard Abruzzo, waits for news at the Italian Coast Guard headquarters in Bari, southern Italy, Friday, Oct.1, 2010. On the eve of a major world balloon festival came word that two of the sport's most acclaimed pilots were missing in a European race, leaving friends and colleagues in the tight-knit community fearful but holding out hope that they would turn up safe. Veteran pilots Richard Abruzzo and Carol Rymer Davis were participating in the 54th Gordon Bennett Gas Balloon Race when contact was lost Wednesday morning over the Adriatic Sea. Since then, search and rescue teams with the Italian coast guard, the U.S. Navy and Croatian coastal aircraft crews have been scouring the area around Croatia's distant, uninhabited islet of Palagruza.​

 

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Carabinieri (Italian paramilitary police) officers search through the southern Italian Adriatic coast near Vieste, Thursday, Sept. 30, 2010.​

 

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An Italian Coast Guard officer looks through binoculars off the southern Adriatic sea coast, Friday, Oct.1, 2010.​

 

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Hot air balloons inflate during the Albuquerque International Balloon Fiesta in Albuquerque, N.M. , on Saturday, Oct. 2, 2010. Many balloonists participating in the event are hopeful that missing American pilots Richard Abruzzo and Carol Rymer Davis will be found. The pair went missing over the Adriatic Sea on Wednesday during a European gas balloon race.​