Benjamin L. "Ben" Abruzzo (June 9, 1930 – February 11, 1985) was an American balloonist and businessman who helped make Albuquerque, New Mexico, into an international ballooning center.

He graduated from the University of Illinois with a BS in business administration in 1952 and commissioned as a lieutenant in the United States Air Force.

[5] In 1977 Abruzzo and fellow balloonist Maxie Anderson decided to attempt a crossing of the Atlantic Ocean in a helium filled gas balloon named the Double Eagle.

The balloon was named in honor of Charles Lindbergh, who in 1927 was the first person to cross the Atlantic Ocean in a small single engined aircraft alone.

The flight of the Double Eagle occurred fifty years after Lindbergh's feat, and was the eleventh recorded attempt to make the crossing, which had been an open challenge in ballooning for more than a century.

After being blown off course by stormy weather, the team was forced to ditch three miles off the coast of Iceland on September 12, 65+1⁄2 hours after taking off.

Later that year, Abruzzo and Anderson piloted together to win the first since WWII International Gordon Bennett Race in the balloon “Double Eagle III”.