French skydiver fails record freefall bid

0 Comments | AFP, May, 2008

NORTH BATTLEFORD, Saskatchewan (AFP) — French skydiver Michel Fournier's bid to set a new altitude freefall record was scuppered Tuesday when the balloon that was to carry him into the stratosphere separated from his gondola.

The balloon had been scheduled to take off at around 4:30 am (1030 GMT) from North Battleford in western Canada's Saskatchewan province, but somehow detached from the gondola and drifted away, leaving the 64-year old parachutist behind on the ground.

It was the latest in a string of unsuccessful efforts by Fournier to enter the record books by plunging 40 kilometers (25 miles) from the edge of space to Earth.

He had been attempting to break four world records: fastest freefall, longest freefall, highest jump, and highest altitude...