Pair Reaches North Pole

Igloolik, Canada - April 26, 2007 — Two English pilots reached the North Pole Friday, having completed nearly 27,000 nautical miles, or about 76 percent of their around-the-world trip. Jennifer Murray, 66, and Colin Bodill, 55, hope to land in the record books for flying around the world in their Bell 407 helicopter via the South and North Poles. They reached the South Pole on Jan. 7, and the North Pole on April 20, and now are headed to Igloolik, an Inuit community in northern Canada, and toward home. When they arrive back in Fort Worth, Texas where they started on Dec. 5, 2006, they will have flown about 36,500 nautical miles and made more than 120 stops in 32 countries in approximately 175 days. Because of poor weather, Murray and Bodill are altering their route back home, and will fly down through Canada. “Taking this new route will present its own potential weather issues,” writes Emma Drew of Ground Control. “But they are still on schedule to complete the trip and land back at Fort Worth on May 23.” On Tuesday, Murray wrote that they made it to Pond Inlet under clear blue skies and light winds. “Apparently we got lucky; flying days in the inlets en route to Pond are few and far between,” she wrote. “The winds and weather were with us for the 312-mile journey. A feast of mountains, frozen ice pack and the first open water we have seen since leaving the Pacific coast.” This isn’t the first time the two have tried to fly around the world via the Poles. The team's first attempt at the record failed in 2003 when, 58 days into their journey, their helicopter crashed in whiteout conditions in Antarctica, 120 miles from the nearest camp. Both pilots suffered serious injuries and it took rescue crews 17 hours to reach them. To find out where they are now, click here.

Pilots Colin Bodill (l) and Jennifer Murray celebrate reaching the North Pole on April 20. The pair is attempting to be the first to fly around the world via the South and North Poles. The pair started their journey on December 5, 2006, and reached the South Pole on January 7, 2007. Bad weather has slowed their progress. For More Information Polar First web site Flight Tracker Flight Update 2 Flight Update 1

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