The two men hoping to set a new world record for traveling in a helium-filled balloon safely made a water landing on the Baja coast near La Poza Grande in Mexico on Saturday.
After traveling roughly 7,000 miles across the Pacific Ocean, the team, consisting of pilots Troy Bradley and Leonid Tiukhtyaev, have now broken two long-standing records for ballooning.
As of this writing, after spending almost a full week in the air, the two pilots were being retrieved by a fishing boat, with initial reports confirming that they've safely landed. The mayor of Albuquerque tweeted the news, offering updates on the crew's status.
... #TwoEagles just offshore approx. two miles. A fishing boat is on the way to check on the pilots. Will report back ASAP, preliminary ...— Mayor Richard Berry (@Mayor_Berry) January 31, 2015
Troy and Leonid have left the capsule and are in a boat on their way to meet us at the shore. #TwoEagles— Mayor Richard Berry (@Mayor_Berry) January 31, 2015
Initially met by a team of fans and friends, the two pilots executed the landing roughly 4 miles offshore.
Another great photo from 15,000 feet, near Midway. Follow the flight of #TwoEagles http://t.co/HN2WwQD4ia pic.twitter.com/rhfJI01MYC— Troy Bradley (@TwoEaglesTeam) January 27, 2015
Bradley, of Albuquerque, New Mexico, and Tiukhtyaev, of Russia, lifted off from Japan Sunday morning, and by Friday, they beat what's considered the "holy grail" of ballooning achievements: the 137-hour duration record set in 1978 by the Double Eagle crew of Ben Abruzzo, Maxie Anderson and Larry Newman in the first balloon flight across the Atlantic. They also easily exceeded the distance record of 5,209 miles set by the Double Eagle V team during the first trans-Pacific flight in 1981.
This morning's sunrise taken from the capsule. Photo taken by: Troy Bradley A photo posted by Two Eagles Balloon Team (@twoeaglesballoonteam) on Jan 27, 2015 at 6:59pm PST
The balloon's capsule is about the size of a large tent — 7 feet long, 5 feet wide and 5 feet tall. They were flying at an altitude of at least 15,000 feet, requiring them to wear oxygen masks and bundle up against the 50-degree temperature inside the capsule.
Love tracking Two Eagles Balloon Team @TwoEaglesTeam. Visit Mission Control @balloonmuseum & watch them make history! pic.twitter.com/WVufWU5eRn— Balloon Foundation (@BalloonFNDN) January 28, 2015
By Saturday morning, the Two Eagles team had been in the air more than 160 hours, and was smashing the distance record, having traveled nearly 7,000 miles across the Pacific Ocean.
#TwoEagles has LANDED SAFELY just off the coast of Baja Mexico. Full details being released momentarily.— Troy Bradley (@TwoEaglesTeam) January 31, 2015
In the official announcement on the team's Facebook page, they were careful to mention that the water landing should not disqualify them from record-setting status.
"We would note that a water landing is acceptable under the international rules governing the establishment of world records," the statement read. "Two around-the-world attempts using a different type of balloon landed in the water, and were approved as records."
Additional reporting by The Associated Press