On 05 April, the French adven­turer Jean-Lou­is Eti­en­ne ven­tu­red on a bal­loon flight from Lon­gye­ar­by­en to the North Pole. He almost suc­cee­ded in rea­ching 90°N, but was then blown off at 88°N towards Rus­sia.

Eti­en­ne car­ri­ed instru­ments to mea­su­re car­bon­di­oxi­de levels and magne­tism. His first solo expe­di­ti­on to the North Pole was on ski in 1986. This time, he wan­ted to focus on obser­va­tions of chan­ges in the high Arc­tic. On 10 April, after 121 hours and 3130 kilo­me­t­res, he lan­ded in Jaku­tia (Rus­sia).

Sourcen: Sval­bard­pos­ten; Jean-Lou­is Eti­en­ne (Home­page)