Norman's epic quest grounded

The 47-year-old adventurer, who is just about a quarter of the way towards his 26,000 target, is now grounded as he awaits news of spares and repairs needed to get him back in the air.

Norman, who survived bowel cancer, is aiming to raise money to beat the disease as he attempts to set a new world record. Watched by the world's media, the father-of-two started his amazing journey at Sandy Bay on Monday, March 22 and he has travelled over 7,000 miles across more than a dozen different countries.

But the intrepid adventurer, head of local company B9 Energy, ran in to trouble after attempting to take off from a landing strip in Thailand on Saturday.

Norman posted on his blog: "A combination of high air temperature, heavy aircraft and variable crosswind resulted in a poor climb out by the aircraft on take-off. Obstacle avoidance resulted in a forced ditching into a shallow lake."

The gyro sustained some damage as a result of the crash, but thankfully Norman walked away uninjured and his craft is now being assessed for possible repair.

The accident comes just over a week after Norman smashed the world record for the longest distance flown in an autogyro. The setback means that the Larne entrepreneur will not be flying for the immediate future and it is not known how long his expedition will be delayed. Or indeed if the gyro, which he calls Roxy, can be made airworthy again.

However, those following Norman's journey were just relieved to hear that he was safe and left messages of encouragement on his blog.

One well-wisher said: "We are very glad that Norman is safe and well and we can understand that he will be very upset with this result.

"I'm sure he will try everything physically possible to get Roxy airworthy again and to continue his remarkable journey, but we want him to be 100 per cent safe before he does it.

"If the journey has to end here then there is no shame in smashing so many records and bringing happiness and friendship to so many people in so many countries. Norman, you are a hero and your journey has inspired and educated people all around the world. Good luck in your endeavour to get Roxy back into the air, you have thousands of people rooting for you."

Norman decided to undertake the trip after he was diagnosed with bowel cancer in 2003 and given a 40 per cent chance of survival. To date, he has flown south through Europe, island-hopped across Greece, tackled the arid deserts of Egypt and the Middle East, overcome the searing heat of tropical India and navigated rain-swept Bangladesh.

Assuming Norman is successful in repairing his autogyro, he will continue on through Indonesia, then head north over Japan, mainland Russia and the Bering Strait until he reaches Alaska. From there, he will travel across the USA and Canada, arriving at Greenland, Iceland and then back to the UK.

Each week, the Larne Times will be hot on Norman’s trail to keep readers up to date with all the latest developments on his amazing journey. You can also follow Norman’s progress on a daily basis via the Larne Times website at www.larnetimes.co.uk

Just click on the Where’s Norman link.

As part of his incredible round the world expedition, Norman is aiming to raise money and awareness for cancer sufferers across the globe. He has set up a website for people to donate to his preferred charity, Bowel Cancer UK. Anyone who wants to donate to Norman’s worthy cause can visit www.justgiving.com/gforgyro