Posted on 09/11/2007 8:29:59 PM PDT by BenLurkin
Record-setting aviators Dick Rutan and Steve Fossett are forever linked in the record books as holders of historic nonstop around-the-world flights. Last week, Rutan joined in the exhaustive - but so far unsuccessful - search for his one-time competitor.
Fossett went missing Sept. 3, when he took off in a single-engine airplane from a private airstrip at the Flying M Ranch, about 80 miles southeast of Reno.
The massive search effort ... entered a second week Monday without finding any sign of the experienced pilot and survivalist.
Rutan spent 3½ days flying search missions over the rugged Nevada terrain, returning to Lancaster on Sunday night. During that time, he logged nearly 25 hours in the air, including 10 hours on Friday alone, the tired pilot recounted Monday.
Piloting a borrowed Cessna 182, Rutan flew about 5,000 feet above the ground while observers trained sophisticated, high-powered binoculars on the terrain below.
The binoculars are stabilized so they function even in turbulence, and with them observers could "pick out a pile of shotgun shells on the desert floor," Rutan said.
The terrain includes barren valleys, many with dry lake beds, and rugged mountain peaks as high as 11,000 feet, he said.
Rescue crews have uncovered eight past airplane wrecks during the search - some of which had never been recorded before - each time raising false hope that Fossett had been found.
"It's a tough area to be searching," Rutan said, "but the fact they found (previously unknown) wrecks gives some indication of the thoroughness of the search."
Early reports indicated Fossett was searching for a suitable dry lake bed for an upcoming land speed record attempt, but Rutan said he learned Fossett was on a simple pleasure flight before leaving the ranch owned by hotel magnate and aviation enthusiast Barron Hilton.
(Excerpt) Read more at avpress.com ...
"SETTING RECORDS - Pilot and adventurer Steve Fossett, left, and Virgin CEO Sir Richard Branson announce plans in 2005 for a nonstop, nonrefueled transglobal flight of the Virgin Atlantic GlobalFlyer. Fossett went missing Sept. 3, when he took off in a single-engine airplane from a private airstrip at the Flying M Ranch, about 80 miles southeast of Reno. " ALLISON GATLIN/Valley Press files
wow
uncovered eight past airplane wrecks during the search
What if Fossett just wanted to go away?.........like vanish....evaporate......phiffffttt???!!!!
I’ll be very surprised if Fossett is alive. It’s been such a long time.
Then I guess he succeed, as he has a habit of doing.
The thought occurred to me that he may have done just that. It’s certainly preferable to the probable case that he augured in some place where he wont be found for decades.
I wonder if it was you or I that crashed in the desert if there would be such a massive state and federal search...
Fossett’s a hero to aviators. Thousands would volunteer to help look for him if it came to that.
What has made it massive is his friends such as Richard Branson whom has the money to do a massive search. For you and and I the state and federal search would be the same. You and I would not have private searches. I have no problem with this.
I live in the rugged country near where this happened and county, state, and feds always go all out to look for a plane crash. I have seen it happen several times.
Why did the automatic tracking sensors not work ?
If the plane was deep in a fresh water lake or hit a cliff very hard ?
I understand that EPERBS work best in salt water ?
or is there other possibilities ?
Thanks in advance.
I once dated a young woman whose father was a veteran pilot of WWII and Korea. He ran an aviation business and was known quite well in the aviation community. He told me that if he were told by a doctor that he didn’t have long to live, then he would fly into a certain mountainous rock formation we both were familiar with. He said it would look like an accident so that there would be no problems with his estate passing to his heirs. He died unexpectedly about four years later. I suppose going out by crashing appealed to his sense of bravado.
I certainly hope they find Mr. Fossett.
thanks
That would be Jeana Yeager.
My other visit to Scaled Composites in 1999 I can’t talk about, as I had to sign a non disclosure agreement. But I got to see some neat stuff under development there.
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