Fossett passes halfway mark in aviation quest

Adventurer Steve Fossett approached the western coast of North America in a lightweight experimental aeroplane this afternoon as he entered Day three of his quest to break aviation's distance record.

Mexico's Baja peninsula was to be his first sighting of land since starting his overnight trek across the Pacific.

Fossett reached Japan - the midway mark of his expected 3 1/2-day trip - last night.

He faced severe turbulence over India and has suffered other problems.

"It was so severe that at one stage Steve had put on his parachute because he was convinced the plane was falling apart,'' said Jackie McQuillan, a spokeswoman for Fossett's team.

Before takeoff, the spindly plane had more than 18,000 pounds of fuel – enough that he should have had 500 pounds to 1,000 pounds of fuel left at the end of the 80-hour trip.

But Fossett lost 750 pounds to a fuel leak during takeoff on Wednesday, leaving little margin for error.

Mission managers also worried about weak winds over the Atlantic during the last leg of the trip.