THE Breitling Orbiter III balloon, which made aviation history with the first non-stop flight around the world, was plucked out of Egypt’s remote Western desert by helicopter on Thursday. Two Egyptian army choppers took part in the salvage operation, lifting the vast balloon and putting it on trucks heading to Alexandria, ready for a sea journey back to Europe. Swiss balloonist Bertrand Piccard and his British co-pilot Brian Jones officially completed their circumnavigation of the globe on Saturday in 19 days, one hour and 49 minutes, and landed in Egypt the following day. The fate of the balloon is unknown but some organisers would like to see it in a museum.