After historic balloon journey, crew plans landing Saturday

In Monday, Jan. 26, 2015 photo provided by the Two Eagles Balloon Team, Troy Bradley of New Mexico and Leonid Tiukhtyaev of Russia set off from Saga, Japan, shortly before 6:30 a.m. JST Sunday, Jan. 25, 2015, in their quest to pilot their helium-filled balloon from Japan in a bid to reach North America and break two major records en route. in their quest to pilot their helium-filled balloon from Japan to North America and break two major records en route. The attempt will put them on course to break a distance record of 5,208 miles (8,381 kilometers). They also want to break the flight-duration record of 137 hours set in 1978 when Ben Abruzzo, Maxie Anderson and Larry Newman made the first trans-Atlantic balloon flight. (AP Photo/Troy Bradley, Two Eagles Balloon Team)

By Associated Press January 31, 2015 1 min read

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (AP) – An American and Russian team that has set ballooning records plans to conclude the historic journey Saturday.

Troy Bradley of Albuquerque and Leonid Tiukhtyaev (too-kh-TY’-yev) of Russia have traveled farther and longer in a gas balloon than anyone in history.

The Two Eagles pilots are aiming for a landing somewhere on a beach in Mexico’s Baja California peninsula.

They lifted off from Japan Sunday on a flight across the Pacific, and have since beat the 137-hour duration record as well as the distance record, having traveled more than 6,500 miles.

Early Saturday morning, the balloon was about 300 miles northwest of the peninsula city of La Paz.