Posted on 09/09/2007 3:16:54 PM PDT by NormsRevenge
RENO, Nev. - Rescue crews were headed to another potential sighting of Steve Fossett's plane Sunday afternoon near where the famous aviator took off on Labor Day.
The sighting occurred within a 50-mile radius of the airstrip about 80 miles southeast of Reno, said Kim Toulouse, a spokesman for the Nevada Department of Wildlife assisting in the search operation.
"We have aircraft and ground forces en route to that location," Toulouse told reporters, refusing to take any questions.
At least six times during the past week search and rescue crews have spotted airplane wreckage they thought might be Fossett's only to learn they were from crashes years and sometimes decades ago.
While Toulouse declined to give the location of the new sighting, she indicated that sheriff's deputies were assisting from Mineral County, which is east and south of the airstrip on a ranch owned by hotel magnate Barron Hilton.
The 63-year-old Fossett has been missing since Monday, when he took off from that airstrip for a three-hour flight.
Search teams have spotted nearly one uncharted wreck a day since the search began Tuesday in the rugged, concealing landscape of western Nevada. To some, that is an ominous sign of how hard it will be to find Fossett.
"That's always a possibility — that he may never be found," Lyon County Undersheriff Joe Sanford said. "But I'd like to believe that with our state-of-the-art technology, the chances of finding him are much better."
That technology has included precise airborne imaging equipment and infrared scanners. A boat equipped with sonar was even used to examine the depths of Walker Lake.
The search teams tried to remain optimistic but acknowledged the futility was beginning to take a toll.
"It's not frustrating, but tiring," Nevada National Guard Capt. April Conway said.
Leaders of the search-and-rescue operation have tried to put the best face on the discoveries of previously unknown crash sites. At the very least, they say, the finds have demonstrated that crews can indeed spot small planes from the air.
The search has spread across an area of 17,000 square miles, twice the size of New Jersey. Crews will continue combing sections of that vast landscape, but on Sunday they began focusing on the territory within 50 miles of the ranch. Most crashes occur within that radius during takeoffs or landings, Nevada Civil Air Patrol Maj. Cynthia Ryan said.
"We've got close to 100 percent covered, at least in some cursory fashion," Ryan told reporters Sunday. "We have to eliminate a lot of territory."
The discovery of at least six previously unknown wrecks in such a short time has been a stark demonstration of the odds against finding Fossett's single-engine Bellanca Citabria Super Decathlon.
The Florida-based Air Force Rescue Coordination Center, which is helping coordinate the search, maintains a registry of known plane wreck sites.
The registry has 129 entries for Nevada. But over the last 50 years, aviation officials estimate, more than 150 small planes have disappeared in Nevada, a state with more than 300 mountain ranges carved with steep ravines, covered with sagebrush and pinon pine trees and with peaks rising to 11,000 feet.
"The mountains are quite rugged, and things don't always get found," said Maj. Cynthia Ryan of the Nevada Civil Air Patrol.
Once the search for Fossett is over, or significantly scaled back, inspectors from the Federal Aviation Administration likely will be sent to each of the newly discovered wrecks. They will try to identify the pilots and bring closure to their families, agency spokesman Ian Gregor said.
No human remains have been found at any of the crash sites discovered so far. But that's not a surprise, given their age and that the region is populated by coyotes and mountain lions.
News of the old wrecks has prompted inquiries from people wondering if the pilots or passengers may be long-lost family members.
"We received an e-mail from (a Florida man) and he said 'You know, that could be the wreckage of my father's airplane and it dates back to 1964.' He said if we can possibly find out any more he'd be happy to know about it," Ryan said.
Searchers are holding out hope of finding Fossett, said Sanford, the Lyon County undersheriff.
"With the resources and assets we have, I feel comfortable we'll find the plane in the near term," Sanford said. "Whether it'll be by us, a hunter or a skier, we'll find it. I like to believe the glass is half full."
___
Associated Press Writer Sandra Chereb in Minden, Nev., contributed to this report.
American adventurer Steve Fossett arrives at Kent International Airport, Manston, Kent, England. in this Feb. 11, 2006, photo. Nearly a week after the record-setting aviator disappeared, search leaders said Sunday, Sept. 9, 2007 they were still sure they would find him but acknowledged that combing thousands of square miles has taken a toll on rescue crews. (AP Photo/Kirsty Wigglesworth, file)
The western slopes of the Wasuk Mountain Range near Yerinton, Nev. are seen in this Thursday, Sept. 6, 2007 file photo. This week's news reports about missing aviator Steve Fossett have been filled with references to the barren and empty landscape he was flying over when his plane disappeared. (AP Photo/Rich Pedroncelli, FILE)
Elevation map shows approximate search area for missing pilot Steve Fossett
It was another false alarm
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20070909/ap_on_re_us/steve_fossett;_ylt=AtM1bn55SsbT60iNXQXWC91vzwcF
But causing those old crash sites to be finally found and giving closure to those who have family lost at them may be Steve Fossett’s greatest contribution to mankind instead of those 115 world first or world records he set.
Either way, he and those poor, lost souls are all in my prayers...
Damn.
Thanks!
I wrote this on another thread, but I’ll repeat it here:
I think a good guess would be that he headed north from the ranch toward the Black Rock Desert area north of Reno to look for a dry lake bed. From there he would have had to fly to Winnemucca to refuel before returning to the ranch.
I’m amazed at how many old crash sites are just now being discovered.
They are using all high-tech available. No telling what all they will find. I hope they find Fossett soon.
Combination of new technology (Satellites imagery, thermal & infrared, etc) that can scan more than the human eye that was all that could look for plane crashes in years past...
I think a good guess would be that he headed north from the ranch toward the Black Rock Desert area north of Reno to look for a dry lake bed. From there he would have had to fly to Winnemucca to refuel before returning to the ranch.
Area 51, maybe?
..and they wonder why we can’t find bin laden.
True, but maybe the news about Burning Man lured him to go check it out. Or perhaps he headed southeast to check out the dry lake beds south of Walker Lake. They are just an hours drive for me and I have been there many times. Pretty remote country.
“True, but maybe the news about Burning Man lured him to go check it out.”
It would seem logical he might have headed in the direction of Burning Man.
Would a round trip there, have been possible in his timetable? Didn’t he leave at 9:00 AM and say he’d be back about noon?
True, but maybe the news about Burning Man lured him to go check it out.
Skilled pilots generally know the terrain where they will be flying, and don’t rely on the recollection of the morning’s perusal of the entertainment section for emergency landing options.
Nor do they fly hundreds of miles in an emergency for an alternate landing site.
Yes. It is only an hour and a half drive to Reno from Smith Valley by auto. And it would be standard procedure for a pilot flying in that area to refuel in Winnemucca before returning.
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