On Friday afternoon, 15 February 2008, a Circuit Court judge in Cook County, Illinois, USA, declared Steve Fossett to be legally dead. A few details at:
By: Flying-A - 10th July 2009 at 02:40
The NTSB reports:
Safety Agency Blames Downdrafts for Steve Fossett Crash
Thursday , July 09, 2009
Associated Press (via Fox News)
WASHINGTON —
The aircrash that killed entrepreneur Steve Fossett, famed for his daredevil aerial feats, probably was caused by downdrafts that exceeded the ability of his small plane to recover before slamming into a mountainside, federal safety officials said Thursday.
Fossett, 63, disappeared on Sept. 3, 2007, after taking off alone from a Nevada ranch owned by hotel magnate Barron Hilton for what was supposed to be a short pleasure flight. His Bellanca 8KCAB-180, a single-engine, two-seater known as the “Super Decathalon,” crashed near Mammoth Lakes, Calif.
An extensive, high-profile search failed to turn up any clues to his fate. A year later, on Oct. 7, 2008, a hiker found some of Fossett’s belongings. An aerial search located the wreckage about a half-mile away at an elevation of about 10,000 feet.
On the day of the accident, no emergency radio transmissions were received from Fossett, nor were any emergency locator transmitter signals received, the National Transportation Safety Board said in a report.
However, after the wreckage was discovered, a review of radar data from September 2007 revealed a “track” that ended about a mile northwest of the accident site, the board said.
Fossett, who made a fortune in the Chicago commodities market, gained worldwide fame for setting records in high-tech balloons, gliders, jets and boats. He was the first person to circle the world solo in a balloon.
Within two days of Fossett’s disappearance, experienced pilots were speculating that even the master of aerial adventure could have fallen victim to the notorious winds on the Sierra’s eastern front that are so powerful and tricky they can swirl an airplane like a leaf and even shear off a wing.
“There’s been times when I’ve been flying in the wind and my blood turns cold,” Adam Mayberry, a private pilot and former spokesman for the Reno-Tahoe International Airport, said at the time.
Wind gusts in the area can whip up without warning from any direction, with sudden downdrafts that can drag a plane clear to the ground. Passengers flying even on commercial airliners between Las Vegas and Reno know to keep their seat belts fastened for a ride that is never smooth.
Mark Twain wrote about the “Washoe Zephyr” — named for the Nevada county — in the book “Roughing It.”
“But, seriously, a Washoe wind is by no means a trifling matter. It blows flimsy houses down, lifts shingle roofs occasionally, rolls up tin ones like sheet music, now and then blows a stagecoach over and spills the passengers,” he wrote.
In 1999, three well-known glider pilots were killed in two separate accidents after taking off from the Minden airport north of Yerington.
By: Flying-A - 4th November 2008 at 04:13
Grim confirmation:
DNA Links Bones Near Plane Crash Site to Adventurer Steve Fossett
Monday , November 03, 2008
Associated Press (via Fox News)
MADERA, California —
Authorities said Monday they have positively identified some of Steve Fossett’s remains: two large bones found a half-mile from where the adventurer’s plane crashed in California’s Sierra Nevada.
Madera County Sheriff John Anderson said DNA tests conducted by the state Department of Justice positively identified the bones as the remains of the millionaire aviator who disappeared last year.
Anderson has declined to say what bones were found, saying he didn’t want to cause the family further anguish.
Fossett’s widow, Peggy Fossett, released a statement thanking authorities for their work.
“I am hopeful that the DNA identification puts a definitive end to all of the speculation surrounding Steve’s death. This has been an incredibly difficult time for me, and I am thankful to everyone who helped bring closure to this tragedy,” she said.
The bones were discovered last week, along with Fossett’s tennis shoes and Illinois driver’s license, which had animal bite marks on them.
Fossett disappeared in September 2007 after taking off from a Nevada ranch owned by hotel magnate Barron Hilton for what was supposed to be a short pleasure flight. Law enforcement, fellow aviators and others launched a costly search that covered 20,000 square miles but turned up empty.
The wreckage of Fossett’s plane was discovered last month after a hiker walking off trail in the Sierra Nevada near Mammoth Lakes stumbled across Fossett’s pilot’s license and a wad of weathered $100 bills. Authorities said Fossett likely died on impact.
The National Transportation Safety Board is investigating the cause of the crash.
By: Mondariz - 10th October 2008 at 20:38
I suspect that there would be hundreds if not thousands of people reporting they thought they saw him or his aircraft. So it would be not surprising for there to be more than one report from a given area. Therefore there may be hundreds or thousands of so-called confirmed sightings.
I find the claims an article to be suspect. How did the alleged California Highway Patrol man identify the plane as Steve Fossett’s, or is the media embellishing the story? Did the highway patrolman get tail number of aircraft? Or like many did they just assume at a later date after hearing the story that it might have been Fossett’s airplane. I bet John Q. public couldn’t tell the difference between a piper cub and the decathlon without some education, and I don’t think the average person’s memory is that good. About the only way that I would believe the claim is if the officer took the tail number, or was such a fanatical aviation aficionado and fan of Fossett that he knew Fossett’s aircraft and tail number. I think an aviation aficionado might be able to recognize and distinguish a decathlon, however I am skeptical of the odds that the California Highway patrolman that allegedly saw this would by chance be able to recognize and remember the type of aircraft. I doubt a highway patrolman would remember the tail number of the aircraft unless it was doing something suspect and was able to see it well enough to take the tail number and log it.
It sounds very confabulated and suspicious.
Words of wisdom.
Even if i did post the original article link, your logic have made me reconsider.
By: Flying-A - 6th October 2008 at 03:57
This might be the last update for a while:
Officials: Fossett Plane Recovery Won’t Resume Until Next Year
Sunday , October 05, 2008
Associated Press (via Fox News)
MAMMOTH LAKES, Calif. —
California officials say recovery efforts around the site of adventurer Steve Fossett’s downed plane might not resume until summer.
Snowfall ended the search in the Sierra Nevada on Friday. Madera County Sheriff’s Department spokeswoman Erica Stuart says she does not expect weather conditions to improve enough for crews to return to the site this year.
Authorities say they completed most of what they needed to do Friday when they removed debris from Fossett’s plane and found three more bone fragments.
The bone fragments will be sent to a lab to determine whether they are human and a match for Fossett.
Fossett vanished in September 2007 during what was supposed to be a short pleasure flight. Wreckage from his plane was discovered last week.
By: ATFS_Crash - 6th October 2008 at 03:49
Yes, most of the search was in Nevada, also the Google Earth search. This was the official call from Civil Air Patrol. Despite A California highway patrolman having reported seeing Fossetts plane near Mammoth Lakes on Sep 3 (the area where the plane has now been found).
When CAP was conducting a search so far from the last confirmed sighting, surely heads must now roll.
I suspect that there would be hundreds if not thousands of people reporting they thought they saw him or his aircraft. So it would be not surprising for there to be more than one report from a given area. Therefore there may be hundreds or thousands of so-called confirmed sightings.
I find the claims an article to be suspect. How did the alleged California Highway Patrol man identify the plane as Steve Fossett’s, or is the media embellishing the story? Did the highway patrolman get tail number of aircraft? Or like many did they just assume at a later date after hearing the story that it might have been Fossett’s airplane. I bet John Q. public couldn’t tell the difference between a piper cub and the decathlon without some education, and I don’t think the average person’s memory is that good. About the only way that I would believe the claim is if the officer took the tail number, or was such a fanatical aviation aficionado and fan of Fossett that he knew Fossett’s aircraft and tail number. I think an aviation aficionado might be able to recognize and distinguish a decathlon, however I am skeptical of the odds that the California Highway patrolman that allegedly saw this would by chance be able to recognize and remember the type of aircraft. I doubt a highway patrolman would remember the tail number of the aircraft unless it was doing something suspect and was able to see it well enough to take the tail number and log it.
It sounds very confabulated and suspicious.
By: Arabella-Cox - 6th October 2008 at 02:49
Yes, most of the search was in Nevada, also the Google Earth search. This was the official call from Civil Air Patrol. Despite A California highway patrolman having reported seeing Fossetts plane near Mammoth Lakes on Sep 3 (the area where the plane has now been found).
When CAP was conducting a search so far from the last confirmed sighting, surely heads must now roll.
Not likely in the CAP. First off it’s mostly volunteer run, second off, it’s sort of a psuedo-governmental organization.
Ryan
By: Newforest - 4th October 2008 at 08:12
A gallery of photos issued by the Sheriff’s department at the crash site.
By: Mondariz - 3rd October 2008 at 05:44
Yes, most of the search was in Nevada, also the Google Earth search. This was the official call from Civil Air Patrol. Despite A California highway patrolman having reported seeing Fossetts plane near Mammoth Lakes on Sep 3 (the area where the plane has now been found).
When CAP was conducting a search so far from the last confirmed sighting, surely heads must now roll.
By: J Boyle - 3rd October 2008 at 05:14
The latest: Sheriff reports the descovery of a bone fragment…believed to be human..at the site. They’ll do DNA tests to determine whether it’s Fosset’s.
By: AlphaChi1989 - 2nd October 2008 at 16:42
Where’s Fossett?
Reports say wreckage found at 10,000 feet, high speed crash.
Inyo National Forest covers about 2 million acres.
Personal items found 5/8 mile from wreckage.
Sniffer dogs being brought in for searching groups.
Another report says governor was considering billing
his widow for the past $687,000 cost for the search after he went
missing.
Pre-crash aircraft photos & data at:
By: Mondariz - 2nd October 2008 at 15:42
The wreck has been confirmed, as being the aircraft Fossett flew.
http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/F/FOSSETT_SEARCH?SITE=MITRA&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT
By: Newforest - 2nd October 2008 at 08:28
Wreckage found?
The wreckage may have been located.
By: Boxman - 1st October 2008 at 19:16
Maybe his fate will soon be known. 🙁
Missing adventurer’s items found
October 1, 2008
CNN
Hikers in California found items belonging to missing adventurer Steve Fossett, officials said Wednesday.
A weathered sweat shirt, cash and a pilot identification card with Fossett’s name were found Tuesday near Mammoth Lakes, police Chief Randy Schienle said. The ID did not have a photo, he said.
“We’re not certain that it belongs to Steve Fossett but it certainly has his name on the I.D.,” Schienle said.
By: Newforest - 14th July 2008 at 22:09
The search has been resumed for a few days, on the ground.
By: J Boyle - 18th February 2008 at 01:11
Does that mean they’ve stopped looking for him ?
Being “declared dead” is more of a legal formality to help settle his large estate. It doesn’t have anything to do with any searches.
Friends and family said they will keep looking.
By: TEEJ - 17th February 2008 at 18:05
It is sad, but one day his crash site and remains will be found. In the Falklands a Pucara pilot’s remains was found four years after the war along with his wreckage. In late 1998 a Dagger pilot’s remains were found in the nose section of his aircraft.
By: Flying-A - 17th February 2008 at 03:38
Does that mean they’ve stopped looking for him ?
The search by Federal, state, and local government agencies (Army National Guard, Civil Air Patrol (CAP), state police, etc.) was called off months ago. I don’t see it resuming unless some good information about his or his plane’s location is forthcoming. There may still be searches by private individuals or groups.
Besides the huge and uncertain search area, rugged terrain, and dense foilage in some places, there’s a human factor involved in searching. A former CAP member told me once that physical and mental fatigue make a visual search by air futile after about 45 minutes. 🙁
By: Ren Frew - 16th February 2008 at 01:43
Does that mean they’ve stopped looking for him ?
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February 16, 2008 at 1:24 am