当地时间3月3日下午1:48分，美国冒险家史蒂夫·福塞特驾驶“环球飞行者”号返回美国堪萨斯州萨利纳，以67小时飞行2.3万英里（3.7万公里）的成绩，独自一人驾驶飞机完成环球航行，其间没有降落也没有重新加油，从而成为全球实现单人不间断环球航行的第一人。外电报道如下：First by balloon, now by plane, Steve Fossett is once again a 'round-the-world record holder¹.

The millionaire adventurer on Thursday became the first person to fly around the world alone without stopping or refueling, touching² down in central Kansas after a 67-hour, 23,000-mile journey that appeared endangered at times by a troubled fuel system.

Fossett, who failed five times before successfully circumnavigating the globe solo³ in a balloon, needed just one try to make the trip in a plane. He holds many other records as a balloonist, pilot and sailor.

Fossett's GlobalFlyer, designed by the same engineer who came up with the Voyager aircraft that first completed the trip in 1986 with two pilots aboard, touched down on the center line at the Salina airport at 1:50 p.m. Thursday.

Circumnavigate表示“环航”，如circumnavigating the earth（环航地球）。此外还有“绕行；避开”之义，例如：circumnavigate the downtown traffic（绕行避开闹市区交通）。

据悉，现年60岁的福塞特是一位以冒险闻名于世的百万富翁，他曾单独打破了62项热气球、飞机、滑翔机和帆船航行纪录。2002年，他创造了单人乘坐热气球环球航行的世界记录。他还游过英吉利海峡。