The three American adventurers who became the first men to cross the Atlantic Ocean in a balloon are perhaps best typified by their balding leader Ben Abruzzo.
Friends and family remember the young Abruzzo as having an insatiable love for death-defying feats. He was, they said, "quite daring."
"As a boy of 12 or 13, he swan-dived off the bridge in the center of town (Rockford, Ill.)," said his sister, Maris Turiciano.
"As a student (at the University of Illinois), he was dared to jump out of a second story window in a dorm. So he did it."
As an Albuquerque, N.M., businessman, he inevitably was drawn to Maxie Anderson, who shared a love of adventure as equally as strong as Abruzzo's. The third member of the team -- Larry Newman -- is a hang glider pilot and told reporters before leaving, "I do something a little crazy every day."
Abruzzo, 48, and Anderson, 44, first attempted the trans-Atlantic crossing last September, but after being buffeted by gusty winds and cold rain for most of the 65-hour flight, they were forced to ditch the balloon near Iceland.
After being rescued by a U.S. Navy helicopter from the cod, wind-whipped north Atlantic, Abruzzo said there was "no way" he would ever attempt the journey again.
But the challenge of becoming the first to cross the ocean in the balloon obsessed Abruzzo, the daredevil child, and lured him into a second attempt. And Anderson reluctantly agreed to try it again with him.
But their own experience on the first trip and information from others about similar attempts convinced the two men that avoiding fatigue was a key factor in the success of the flight, especially after the third or fourth day aloft.
For the second attempt, they added the 31-year-old Newman to the crew.
Newman is president of Electra Flyer Corp., a hang glider manufacturing firm in Albuquerque. The Los Angeles native is an expert at hang gliding and had logged some 6,000 hours as an aircraft pilot, but his experience in a balloon stood at zero.
Abruzzo and Anderson said his lack of experience would be no handicap and that his presence would allow all three men to get more sleep -- thus reducing the fatigue factor -- during the flight.
Newman took his first balloon ride with Abruzzo last year in the Albuquerque area. His second trip was the current trans-Atlantic victory.
Newman, who married his wife, Sandra, last March, said he flew hang gliders frequently in the weeks before the flight to maintain his "air sense."
"I'm lucky I get to go," he said. "I do something a little crazy every day. This is an additional adventure."
Anderson, the president of Ranchers Exploration and Development Corp., a uranium and copper mining company, approached the flight in a businesslike manner.
"The only way you win in a tough event is through endurance and determination and preparation," he said. "Endurance is the main thing. I have been exercising for two hours a day to get ready."
Anderson was born in Sayre, Okla., and was graduated from the University of North Dakota in 1956 with a bachelor of science in industrial engineering. He and his wife, Patti, have four children.
