[BIGLOOK]

It's the plane, George. Citabria is reported to have a wood frame so in the case of a crash, there's not a lot of metal signature from the debris field. If Fossett flew into the side of a steep valley, the debris field might be spread vertically making detection much more difficult.

As to the tracking sensors, who knows? The device might have been totaled or might be somewhere under a rock.

One other possibility is that once Fossett was airborne, something caught his fancy and he flew in another direction and the search is in the wrong area.

Everything is speculation and this will remain a mystery until the plane and pilot are found.

[george76]

thanks