Copter’s Atlantic Crossing Ends Early

Two French pilots hoping to cross the Atlantic Ocean in a specially equipped helicopter were forced by a fuel leak to abandon the attempt and land on a tugboat. Gerard David and Phillippe Boutry were following the path of aviation pioneer Charles Lindbergh, who became the first person to complete a solo transatlantic plane flight during his New York-to-Paris trip 70 years ago. The helicopter took off from New Jersey’s Teterboro airport. It was being transported to Newfoundland. David and Boutry had expected to finish the 3,700-mile journey in about 27 hours. Their trip was designed to demonstrate the reliability of a new in-flight refueling system, which, organizers said, had performed well despite the leak.