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Wreckage of Fossett's Plane Found in Mammoth Lakes

Written by Benett Kessler

Thursday, 02 October 2008

Search crews of the Minaret Trail in the mountains above Mammoth Lakes found the wreckage of Steve Fossett's single engine, Bellanca airplane that had slammed into the mountains in what has been described as a hard-impact crash.

Madera County took charge of the search since Fossett's identification cards were found inside the Madera County line high in the mountains. Madera County Sheriff John Anderson received word Wednesday night from a search and rescue team member that there appeared to be something in the dense forest that looked like it could be wreckage of a plane.

Ground teams did later confirm that the find was a plane and that the tag from the aircraft matched the plane Fossett was flying when he disappeared last September.

At last report, search crews had not found any human remains either in the plane wreckage or nearby. Cadaver dogs and search teams continued to scour the area for any sign of Fossett.

Authorities said that it appears the plane smashed hard into the mountains. The engine of the plane was about 300 feet away from the main wreckage.

As we have reported, Preston Morrow of Mammoth Lakes found Fossett's identification cards while on a hike off the Minaret Trail on Monday. Authorities said that Morrow found Fossett's Federal Aviation card and his Soaring Society of America card. He also found ten one hundred dollar bills in the same vicinity. Both the cards and the cash were well-worn from the elements.

On Tuesday, Morrow's boss, Tom Cage, had asked local bear man, Steve Searles to accompany Morrow and others on a trip back to the site in the mountains to get more definite co-ordinates of the location of the ID cards. They then turned everything over to Mammoth Police.
Cage and Morrow, with help from local attorney David Baumwohl, battled the onslaught of media to the area. The three men spent most of Wednesday answering phones and dealing with reporters and producers. It's a big story that started last September when Fossett went missing.

The 63 year old world-famous aviator had achieved as many as 100 world records. He was last seen when he took off on a flight from the Flying M Ranch in Nevada.

A wide and extensive search followed his disappearance. The Civil Air Patrol and many others searched for days over a wide vicinity of Nevada and California. Now, the search continues for Fossett's remains.

(Photos, courtesy of Mono County Search and Rescue)

Thanks for adding to the thread....

Also:

Steve Fossett Items Found in Mammoth Lakes, CA: FAA ID Cards?

Sounds to me like he either stroked out or had a heart attack.