ASSOCIATED PRESS Pilot Steve Fossett is shown here Monday in Salina, Kan., when he embarked on a trip to fly his GlobalFlyer around the world nonstop without refueling.

Flier skips isle stop
despite fuel snafu

SALINA, Kan. » Millionaire adventurer Steve Fossett decided yesterday to press ahead with his attempt to fly nonstop around the world solo without refueling, despite a serious problem earlier in the day with the plane's fuel system.

Fossett and his flight crew agreed last night to keep the GlobalFlyer in the air rather than abandoning the record-setting attempt and setting down on Oahu.

He discovered the problem with the fuel system of the custom-built plane early yesterday.

Fossett's crew made the decision to continue on when the plane was about 400 miles north of Honolulu. A chase plane that has been following the GlobalFlyer stopped in Honolulu to refuel before meeting up with Fossett over the Pacific.

If Fossett had decided to come to Hawaii, he would have landed at Honolulu Airport's reef runway, an alternate landing spot for the space shuttle, to avoid disrupting commercial air traffic, said Scott Ishikawa, spokesman for the state Department of Transportation.

Coast Guard officials said they were prepared to respond if Fossett was in distress.

"I'm better than I was yesterday," Fossett told reporters earlier yesterday as he headed into daylight east of Japan. "It improves the mood, also. I'm hopeful this is all going to work out.

Fossett discovered the problem with the fuel system of the custom-built plane early yesterday.

Project Manager Paul Moore said fuel sensors in the 13 tanks differed from readings of how quickly the plane's single jet engine was burning fuel. Moore said the crew had been forced to assume that 2,600 pounds of the original 18,100 pounds of fuel "disappeared" early in the flight.

It was not clear whether the problem was with the instruments that track how much fuel remains or if some fuel had been lost because of a leak, Fossett's team said.

Jon Karkow, Fossett's chief flight engineer, said yesterday the crew was confident the jet was fully loaded at takeoff and that the problem had subsided.

"At this point it's spilled milk, or at least fuel," Karkow said.

Fossett, 60, still might be able to finish the flight on his original path if a tail wind in the jet stream remains strong enough to push him across the Pacific. Karkow said if the fuel runs out, Fossett could glide about 200 miles before having to land.

Before the fuel problem was discovered, Fossett had estimated he would complete the 23,000-mile journey at midday today.

Fossett already holds the record for flying solo around the globe in a balloon, as well as dozens of other aviation and sailing records.

The project is being financed by Virgin Atlantic founder Sir Richard Branson, a longtime friend and fellow adventurer. Branson spoke with Fossett as he crossed the Pacific and sounded more upbeat about the future of the flight.

"I think he's got a shot at the record," Branson said via telephone. "I think it's just too soon to be confident."

The first nonstop global flight without refueling was made in 1986 by Jeana Yeager and Dick Rutan, brother of GlobalFlyer designer Burt Rutan.