Konyukhov’s 34,000-kilometer (21,000-mile) journey would then be completed in around 11 days and eight hours, shaving two days off the record set by American businessman Steve Fossett in 2002.
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Russian traveler Fyodor Konyukhov, 64, reached the Australian town of Northam on Saturday, passing over the same airfield he set out from on July 12, according to ABC, a local broadcaster.
He is expected to land later today in the Wheatbelt region of Western Australia.
Fedor Konyukhov’s 56-meter (184-foot) -tall helium and hot-air balloon was flying northeast toward the southwest Australian coast at 80 kilometers (50 miles) per hour.
Wallington said the last 24 hours of the trip had been uneventful for the experienced Russian explorer but joked that “the previous 10 days have been awful”.
Crews in six helicopters followed the 1.6-metric-ton (1.8-ton) balloon from Northam inland to help him land.
Mr Konyukhov’s son Oscar described his father’s achievement as a miracle.
The crew hope to get Konyukhov on solid ground before nightfall, but have raised the prospect of keeping the adventurer in the air if no safe place is found to bring him down.
“We’ve asked him to keep moving to try and get away from the hills and the power lines”, Smith said.
‘The balloon is coated with an aluminum foil so we don’t want it touching power lines or the whole thing will become live’.
Mr Konyukhov’s team say landing the balloon could be the most challenging and risky part of the journey, with late afternoon the best time.
He will expect to be dragged along the ground for several kilometers (miles) before coming to a halt. “Fedor is very exhausted”.
Fossett was the only other person to circumnavigate the world in a hot air balloon, which he completed in 13-and-a-half days.
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There has been no immediate comment by the World Air Sports Federation.
