Adventurer Steve Fossett is approaching the west coast of North America and his Mission Control team is calculating estimated arrival times for key milestones during the final parts his long-distance record attempt.
Fossett, meanwhile, told Mission Control earlier today that turbulence was so heavy over India Thursday that he feared the wings of the Virgin Atlantic GlobalFlyer would crack off and he donned his parachute pack in case he had to bail out.
"I was afraid it was going to break up. It was a scary time and I had my parachute on and I was prepared to bail out in case the wing broke," Fossett told project engineers in a satellite phone conversation.
Based on predicted tailwind speeds, project officials estimate landfall over the west coast of North America near Baja Peninsula, Mexico, around 2 p.m. EST today.
Assuming marginal fuel levels are adequate for a second crossing of the Atlantic Ocean, Fossett and the GlobalFlyer would make landfall over Ireland about 12:30 p.m. EST Saturday.
Estimated time of arrival at Kent International Airport east of London: 1:30 p.m. EST Saturday.
Fossett took off from Kennedy Space Center at 7:22 a.m. EST Wednesday.
Space news and analysis from Kennedy Space Center and Cape Canaveral 
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