Hot air balloon forced down on P.E.I. on attempt to be first to cross the Atlantic Ocean

A hot air balloon that was trying to travel over the Atlantic Ocean had to land near Cardigan, P.E.I., on Thursday.

The first hydrogen, open basket gas balloon journey across the Atlantic has ended, for the time being, on the far side of the Northumberland Strait.

Torabhaig Atlantic Explorer Flight Control said all three crew members are safe after the balloon was forced to touch down “with a suspected gas leak,” near Cardross, P.E.I., at 11:22 a.m. on Thursday in a Facebook post.

The crew’s last post before being forced to land had them 1,123 metres south of Boiestown, N.B., travelling at a speed of 18 knots (approximately 33 km/h).

The team’s final post in the Torabhaig Atlantic Explorer Diary 2025 before putting down in P.E.I. documented their take-off from Presque Isle, ME, on Saturday.

Torabhaig Atlantic Explorer Diary has been documenting the vessel and its crew since they began preparing for their journey in 2023. The trip, if completed, would take them to altitudes between 6,000 and 8,000 feet as they cross the Atlantic Ocean.

If successful, the journey will be the “longest distance ever covered in this type of balloon,” said the explorer’s website.

From Maine, the intended route would take the balloon over Newfoundland, across the Atlantic, into Europe, covering thousands of kilometres in an estimated four to five days.

The team intends to collect air samples as part of a study searching for microbes that they said could be used in the development of new medicines, biofuels, bioplastics or agri-tech.

Some of their air samples will come from locations that have never been sampled.

For more P.E.I. news, visit our dedicated provincial page.