A small aircraft touched down in Cornwall yesterday after an epic 4,500-mile transatlantic journey.
Skybus engineering manager Mick Yould and veteran pilot Doug Cochrane left Calgary, in Canada, in the 19-seat De Havilland Canada DHC-6 Twin Otter aircraft on April 4.
But the scheduled six-day journey, including stops in Greenland and Iceland, was delayed when they were snowed in at Churchill, on the shores of Hudson Bay.
They completed the last leg of the journey from Prestwick, Glasgow, yesterday, touching down at Land's End just before 4pm.
Jeff Marston, chief executive of the Isles of Scilly Steamship Group, said: "It has taken a little longer than he had originally hoped but it shows just how robust a plane it is.
"It is a great achievement to have brought the aircraft back from Calgary – Mick and Doug are both really pleased to be here."
The Steamship Group, which owns and operates Skybus and Land's End Airport, already has three Twin Otters and the arrival of the fourth will give the company more flexibility.
With a normal operational range of about 650 miles, it had to be fitted with a giant fuel tank taking up half the space inside the 19-seat passenger cabin.
Nevertheless, the new arrival will be pressed into service almost immediately and could be flying by Wednesday.
"This is really the finishing touch to what have been a really busy few days," Mr Marston added. "We've opened a new terminal at Land's End and have completed the refurbishment of the Scillonian.
"The aircraft has arrived just in time with the start of the season and a very busy gig weekend coming up."
