After 67 hours’ flying and just 20 minutes’ sleep, Steve Fossett, the American millionaire, secured his place in aviation history tonight by becoming the first person to circumnavigate the globe solo without stopping or refuelling.

As a crowd of 8,000 people cheered him on, his Virgin Atlantic GlobalFlyer touched down at Salina, Kansas, after 1.48pm local time (7.48pm GMT) after travelling 23,000 miles around the world.

For three days the 60-year-old adventurer and former financier braved extreme fatigue and technical failure, including an apparent loss of fuel, on a diet of chocolate milkshakes and water.

He also completed two other records: the fastest time to fly around the world and the longest distance flown without landing.

Shortly before landing he told mission control: "I am really looking forward to getting back, this trip is quite a lot of work for one person, I have to say that."

His record attempt attracted huge publicity after ground crew announced that he was running dangerously low on fuel shortly before he embarked on the final leg of the journey over the Pacific.

Sir Richard Branson, whose Virgin Atlantic airline funded the trip, insisted that the claim was not a ploy to maintain media interest. It emerged today that Mr Fossett had enough fuel to fly, rather than glide, the last few hundred miles back to Salina.

He took off on Monday, after weeks of cancelled starts due to treacherous weather, with 18,100lb of fuel and at 8am local time (2pm GMT) he had 1,900lb left to complete the flight over mid-west America. He had flown up to 400mph after hitching a ride on 115mph tail winds on the jet stream.

Sir Richard insisted: "I think that the incredible thing in life is that truth is stranger than fiction."

Jon Karkow, the chief engineer and test pilot, said that he was pessimistic when problems arose and had genuinely been concerned when they discovered that 2600lbs of fuel had "mysteriously" vanished.

Within 24 hours of his take-off it emerged that the Global Positioning System (GPS) had shut down disabling the autopilot system. For two hours he was unable to pin-point his location and establish the correct route as he turned right over the Atlantic. The system eventually reactivated and Mr Fossett was able to continue with his record attempt.

Mr Fossett insisted that he had been comfortable cooped up in his 7.7ft cockpit, but had suffered headaches through dehydration and sleep deprivation.

The lightweight aircraft was designed by Burt Rutan and built by his firm Scaled Composites. It is made of composite materials including carbon fibre and in an attempt to reduce weight it contains no metal in the fuselage.

The record attempt has relied on the aircraft’s ability to reach high altitude and fly on the jet stream winds more than 45,000 feet above sea level, 15,000 ft higher than a commercial airliner.

Take-off was repeatedly cancelled after strong winds and turbulence threatened to break up the plane. It was initially feared that the aircraft, heavily laden with fuel, would ignite into a fireball if there was the slightest spark on the runway.

The Marching Cougars band, from Salina South High School, paraded up and down the tarmac as Mr Fossett touched down in brilliant sunshine. More than 100 light aircraft were also at the airstrip as hundreds of aviation enthusiasts arrived to welcome him back.

Dick Ionata, who monitored the event for America’s National Aeronautic Association, said: "This is the last great aviation feat to be accomplished.

"It was the last great challenge out there. There have been periods when this record looked unassailable. But through technology and one man’s efforts it has been done."

For the small city of Salina, famed only for having the biggest manufacturer of frozen pizza, it is hoped the record attempt will secure its place in aviation history, as well as investment.

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