Round-the-world record challenged

2010-03-18 22:35

Geneva - A Swiss-based private jet company says it will attempt to set a speed record for a round-the-world flight using a small aircraft weighing 9 000 to 12 000kg.

Sonnig SA claims its owner Riccardo Mortara will try on Friday to circle the globe in under 67 hours, one minute and ten seconds to beat a 2006 record set by US adventurer Steve Fossett.

The World Air Sports Federation says the Swiss team can't capture Fossett's record because Mortara will have two co-pilots and make ten refuelling stops.

Fossett flew alone and non-stop in a custom-built plane. He died the next year in a plane crash.

The federation says the Swiss team may still be eligible for its own record.

- AP