Steve Fossett | |
|---|---|
 Fossett in September 2002 | |
| Born | James Stephen Fossett (1944-04-22)April 22, 1944 Jackson, Tennessee, U.S. |
| Died | September 3, 2007(2007-09-03) (aged 63) |
| Cause of death | Plane crash |
| Alma mater | Washington University in St. Louis (MBA) Stanford University (BA) Garden Grove High School |
| Known for | setting a large number of world records as an adventurer, sailor and aviator |
| Spouse | Peggy Viehland |
James Stephen Fossett (April 22, 1944 – September 3, 2007) was an American businessman and a record-setting aviator, sailor, and adventurer. He was the first person to fly solo nonstop around the world in a balloon and in afixed-wing aircraft. He made his fortune in the financial services industry and heldworld records for five nonstopcircumnavigations of the Earth: as a long-distance soloballoonist, as asailor, and as a solo flight fixed-wing aircraftpilot.
A fellow of theRoyal Geographical Society and theExplorers Club, Fossett set more than one hundred records[verification needed] in five different sports, sixty of which still stood at the time of his death. He broke three of the seven absolute world records for fixed-wing aircraft recognized by theFédération Aéronautique Internationale, all in hisVirgin Atlantic GlobalFlyer.[1] In 2002, he was awarded the Gold Medal of the Royal Aero Club of the UK,[2] and was inducted into theNational Aviation Hall of Fame in 2007.
Fossett disappeared on September 3, 2007, while flying a light aircraft over theGreat Basin Desert, between Nevada and California. Fossett's plane was discovered wrecked in 2008.
Fossett was born inJackson, Tennessee and grew up inGarden Grove, California, where he graduated fromGarden Grove High School.[2]
Fossett's interest in adventure began early. As aBoy Scout, he grew up climbing the mountains of California, beginning with theSan Jacinto Mountains.[3] "When I was 12 years old I climbed my first mountain, and I just kept going, taking on more diverse and grander projects."[4] Fossett said that he did not have a natural gift for athletics or team sports, so he focused on activities that required persistence and endurance.[5] His father, anEagle Scout, encouraged Fossett to pursue these types of adventures and encouraged him to become involved with the Boy Scouts early.[3] He became an active member of Troop 170 in Orange, California. At age 13,[3] Fossett earned the Boy Scouts' highest rank of Eagle Scout.[6] He was a Vigil Honor member of theOrder of the Arrow, the Boy Scouts' honor society, where he served as lodge chief.[6] He also worked as aRanger atPhilmont Scout Ranch inNew Mexico during the summer of 1961.[7] Fossett said in 2006 that Scouting was the most important activity of his youth.[3]
In college atStanford University, Fossett was already known as an adventurer; hisSigma Alpha Epsilonfraternity brothers convinced him to swim toAlcatraz and raise a banner that read "BeatCal" on the wall of the prison, closed two years previously. He made the swim but was thwarted by a security guard when he arrived.[5] While at Stanford, Fossett was a student body officer and served as the president of a few clubs.[3][which?] In 1966, Fossett graduated from Stanford with a degree in economics.[8] Fossett spent the following summer in Europe climbing mountains and swimming theDardanelles.[5]
In 1968, Fossett received an MBA from theOlin School of Business atWashington University in St. Louis, Missouri, where he was later a longtime member of the Board of Trustees.[9] Fossett's first job out of business school was withIBM; he then served as a consultant forDeloitte and Touche, and later accepted a job withMarshall Field's. Fossett later said, "For the first five years of my business career, I was distracted by being in computer systems, and then I became interested in financial markets. That's where I thrived."[3]
Fossett then became a successfulcommodities salesman in Chicago, first forMerrill Lynch in 1973, where he proved a highly successful producer of commission revenue for himself and that firm. He began working in 1976 forDrexel Burnham, which assigned him one of its memberships on theChicago Board of Trade and permitted him to market the services of the firm from a phone on the floor of that exchange. In 1980, Fossett began the process that eventually produced his enduring prosperity: renting exchange memberships to would-be floor traders, first on theChicago Board Options Exchange.[5][10]
After fifteen years of working for other companies,[3] Fossett founded his own firms, Marathon Securities and Lakota Trading, from which he made millions renting exchange memberships.[2][8][11] He founded Lakota Trading for that purpose in 1980.[12] In the early 1980s,[3] he founded Marathon Securities and extended that successful formula to memberships on the New York stock exchanges. He earned millions rentingfloor trading privileges (exchange memberships) to hopeful new floor traders, who also paid clearing fees to Fossett's clearing firms in proportion to the trading activity of those renting the memberships. In 1997, the trading volume of its rented memberships was larger than any other clearing firm on the Chicago exchange.[5] Lakota Trading replicated that same business plan on many exchanges in the United States and also in London.[3] Fossett later used those revenues to finance his adventures.[2][8][11] Fossett said, "As a floor trader, I was very aggressive and worked hard. Those same traits help me in adventure sports."[5]
Fossett said he did not participate in any of the "interesting things" he had done in college during his time in exchange-related activities: "There was a period of time where I wasn't doing anything except working for a living. I became very frustrated with that and finally made up my mind to start getting back into things."[3] He began to take six weeks a year off to spend time on sports and moved toBeaver Creek, Colorado in 1990. Fossett later sold most of his business interests,[2][13] although he maintained an office in Chicago until 2006.[3]
In 1968, Fossett married Peggy Fossett (née Viehland), who was originally fromRichmond Heights, Missouri.[9] They had no children.[12][14] The Fossetts had homes inBeaver Creek, Colorado and Chicago, and a vacation home inCarmel, California.[5][9][13] Fossett was friends with billionaireRichard Branson, whoseVirgin Group sponsored some of Fossett's adventures.[2]
Steve Fossett was well known for his world records and adventures in balloons, sailboats, gliders, and powered aircraft. He was an aviator of exceptional breadth of experience. He wanted to become the first person to achieve a soloballoon flight around the world (finally succeeding on his sixth attempt, in 2002, becoming the first person to complete an uninterrupted and unrefueled solocircumnavigation of the world inany kind of aircraft). He set, with co-pilot Terry Delore, 10 of the 21 Glider Open records, including the first 2,000 km Out-and-Return, the first 1,500 km Triangle and the longest Straight Distance flights. His achievements as a jet pilot in aCessna Citation X include records for U.S. Transcontinental, Australia Transcontinental, and Round-the-World westbound non-supersonic flights.[15] Prior to Fossett's aviation records, no pilot had held world records in more than one class of aircraft; Fossett held them in four classes.[3]
In 2005, Fossett made the first solo, nonstop unrefueled circumnavigation of the world in an airplane, in 67 hours in theVirgin Atlantic GlobalFlyer, a single-engine jet aircraft.
In 2006, he again circumnavigated the globe nonstop and unrefueled in 76 hours, 45 minutes in theGlobalFlyer, setting the record for the longest flight by any aircraft in history with a distance of 25,766 statute miles (41,467 km).[2]
He set 91 aviation world records ratified byFédération Aéronautique Internationale, of which 36 stand,[16] plus 23 sailing world records ratified by theWorld Sailing Speed Record Council.
On August 29, 2006, he set the world altitude record for gliders overEl Calafate, Argentina at 15,460 metres (50,720 ft).[17]
On February 21, 1995, Fossett landed inLeader, Saskatchewan, Canada, after taking off fromSouth Korea, becoming the first person to make a solo flight across the Pacific Ocean in aballoon.[18]
In 2002, he became the first person to fly around the world alone, nonstop in any kind of aircraft. He launched the 10-story high balloonSpirit of Freedom fromNortham, Western Australia on June 19, 2002 and returned to Australia on July 3, 2002, subsequently landing inQueensland. Duration and distance of this solo balloon flight was 13 days, 8 hours, 33 minutes (14 days 19 hours 50 minutes to landing), 20,626.48 statute miles (33,195.10 km).[18] The balloon dragged him along the ground for 20 minutes at the end of the flight. Only the capsule survived the landing; it was taken to theSmithsonian Institution inWashington, D.C., where it was displayed.[19] The control center for the mission was inBrookings Hall atWashington University in St. Louis.[20] Fossett's top speed during the flight was 186 miles per hour (299 km/h) over the Indian Ocean. The trip set a number of records for ballooning: Fastest (200 miles per hour (320 km/h), breaking his own previous record of 166 miles per hour (270 km/h)), Fastest Around the World (13.5 days), Longest Distance Flown Solo in a Balloon (20,482.26 miles (32,963.00 km)), and 24-Hour Balloon Distance (3,186.80 miles (5,128.66 km) on July 1).[21]
While Fossett had financed five previous tries himself, his successful record-setting flight was sponsored byBud Light.[19] In the end, Fossett actually made money on all his balloon flights. He bought a contingency insurance policy for $500,000 that would pay him $3 million if he succeeded in the flight. Along with sponsorship, that payment meant that in the end Fossett did not have to spend any of his money other than for initial expenses.[3]
Fossett was one ofsailing's most prolific distance record holders. Speed sailing was his specialty and from 1993 to 2004 he dominated the record sheets, setting 23 official world records and nine distance race records. He is recognized by the World Sailing Speed Record Council as "the world's most accomplished speed sailor".[2]
On the maxi-catamaranCheyenne (formerly namedPlayStation), Fossett twice set the prestigious24 Hour Record of Sailing. In October 2001, Fossett and his crew set atransatlantic record of 4 days 17 hours, shattering the previous record by 43 hours 35 minutes; an increase in average speed of nearly seven knots.
In early 2004, Fossett, as skipper, set theAround the world sailing record of 58 days, 9 hours inCheyenne with a crew of 13. In 2007, Fossett held the world record for crossing thePacific Ocean in his 125-foot (38 m) sailboat, thePlayStation, which he accomplished on his fourth try.[5][13]
Complete Summary of Sailing Records[22]
13 Outright World Records:
2 Singlehanded World Records:
9 Race Records:
Singlehanded Race Record:
World Records set but later beaten:
At the time of his death a submarine,DeepFlight Challenger, was under construction to enable Fossett to be the first solo submariner to reach theChallenger Deep.[23]
Fossett set the Absolute World Speed Record for airships on October 27, 2004. The new record for fastest flight was accomplished with aZeppelin NT, at a recorded average speed of 62.2 knots (115.2 km/h; 71.6 mph). The previous record was 50.1 knots (92.8 km/h; 57.7 mph) set in 2001 in a Virgin airship. In 2006, Fossett was one of only 17 pilots in the world licensed to fly the Zeppelin.[3]
Fossett made the first solo nonstop unrefueled fixed-wing aircraft flight around the world between February 28 and March 3, 2005. He took off fromSalina, Kansas, where he was assisted by faculty members and students fromKansas State University, and flew eastbound with the prevailing winds, returning to Salina after 67 hours, 1 minute, 10 seconds, without refueling or making intermediate landings. His average speed of 342.2 mph (550.7 km/h) was also the absolute world record for "speed around the world, nonstop and non-refueled." His aircraft, theVirgin Atlantic GlobalFlyer, had acarbon fiber reinforced plastic airframe with a singleWilliams FJ44 turbofan engine. It was designed and built byBurt Rutan and his company,Scaled Composites, for long-distance solo flight. Thefuel fraction, the weight of the fuel divided by the weight of the aircraft at take-off, was 83 percent.[24][25][26]
On February 11, 2006, Fossett set the absolute world record for "distance without landing" by flying from theKennedy Space Center, Florida, around the world eastbound, then upon returning to Florida continuing across theAtlantic a second time to land inBournemouth, England. The official distance was 25,766 statute miles (41,467 km) and the duration was 76 hours 45 minutes.
The next month, Fossett made a third flight around the world in order to break the absolute record for "Distance over a closed circuit without landing" (with takeoff and landing at the same airport). He took off from Salina, Kansas on March 14, 2006 and returned on March 17, 2006 after flying 25,262 statute miles (40,655 km).
There are only seven absolute world records for fixed-wing aircraft recognized by theFédération Aéronautique Internationale and Fossett broke three of them in the Virgin AtlanticGlobalFlyer.[1] All three records were previously held byDick Rutan andJeana Yeager from their flight in theVoyager in 1986. Fossett contributed theGlobalFlyer to theSmithsonian Institution's permanent collection.[27] It is on display at theUdvar-Hazy Center of the Smithsonian'sNational Air and Space Museum.[28] Fossett flew the plane to the Center and taxied the plane to the front door.[29]
Fossett set two U.S. transcontinental fixed-wing aircraft records in the same day. On February 5, 2003, Fossett and co-pilot Doug Travis flew hisCessna Citation X jet fromSan Diego, California toCharleston, South Carolina in 2 hours, 56 minutes, 20 seconds, at an average speed of 726.83 mph (1,169.72 km/h) to smash the transcontinental record for non-supersonic jets.[30][31]
He returned to San Diego, then flew the same course as co-pilot for fellow adventurerJoe Ritchie in Ritchie's turbopropPiaggio Avanti. Their time was 3 hours, 51 minutes, 52 seconds, an average speed of 546.44 mph (879.41 km/h), which broke the previous turboprop transcontinental record held byChuck Yeager and Renald Davenport.[32][33]
Fossett also set the east-to-west transcontinental record for non-supersonic fixed-wing aircraft on September 17, 2000. He flew fromJacksonville, Florida to San Diego, California in 3 hours, 29 minutes, at an average speed of 591.96 mph (952.67 km/h).[34]
On July 2, 2005, Fossett and co-pilot Mark Rebholz recreated the first nonstop crossing of the Atlantic which was made by the British team ofJohn Alcock and Arthur Whitten Brown in June 1919 in aVickers Vimy biplane. Their flight fromSt. John's, Newfoundland, Canada toClifden,County Galway, Ireland in the open cockpit Vickers Vimy replica took 18 hours 25 minutes with 13 hours flown in instrument flight conditions. Because there was no airport in Clifden, Fossett and Rebholz landed on the 8th fairway of theConnemara Golf Links.[3]
The team of Steve Fossett and Terry Delore (NZ) set ten official world records in gliders while flying in three major locations: New Zealand, Argentina, and Nevada, United States. An asterisk (*) indicates records subsequently broken by other pilots.
Fossett and co-pilotEinar Enevoldson flew a glider into thestratosphere on August 29, 2006. The flight set theAbsolute Altitude Record for gliders at 15,460 metres (50,720 ft).[44] Since the glider cockpit was unpressurized, the pilots wore fullpressure suits (similar to space suits) so that they would be able to fly to altitudes above 45,000 feet (14,000 m). Fossett and Enevoldson had made previous attempts in three countries over a period of five years before finally succeeding with this record flight. This endeavor is known as thePerlan Project.
As a young adventurer, Fossett was one of the first participants in theWorldloppet, a series ofcross-country ski marathons around the world. While he had little experience as a skier, he was in the first group of 'citizen athletes' to participate in the series debut in 1979. And in 1980, he became the eighth skier to complete all 10 of the long distance races, earning a Worldloppet medallion. He has also set cross-country skiing records in Colorado, setting anAspen toVail record of 59 h, 53 min, 30 s in February 1998, and an Aspen toEagle record of 12 hr, 29 min in February 2001.[3]
Fossett was a lifelong mountain climber and had climbed the highest peaks on six of the seven continents.[5][11] In the 1980s, he became friends withPatrick Morrow, who was attempting to climb the highest peaks on all seven continents for the "Seven Summits" world record, which Morrow achieved in 1985. Fossett accompanied Morrow for his last three peaks, includingVinson Massif in Antarctica,Carstensz Pyramid in Oceania, andElbrus in Europe.[3] While Fossett went on to climb almost all of the Seven Summits peaks himself, he declined to climbMount Everest in 1992 due toasthma.[3] He later returned to Antarctica to climb again.
Fossett competed in and completed premier endurance sports events, including the 1,165-mile (1,875 km)Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race, in which he finished 47th on his second try in 1992 after training for five years. He became the 270th person to swim across theEnglish Channel on his fourth try in September 1985 with a time of 22 hours, 15 minutes.[3][5][18] Although Fossett said he was not a good enough swimmer "to make the varsity swim team", he found that he could swim for long periods.[3] Fossett competed in theIronman Triathlon in Hawaii[9] (finishing in 1996 in 15:53:10),[45] theBoston Marathon, and theLeadville Trail 100, a 100-mile (160 km) Coloradoultramarathon which involves running up to elevations of more than 12,600 feet (3,800 m) in theRocky Mountains.[5][8]
Fossett raced cars in the mid-1970s and later returned to the sport in the 1990s.[3] He competed in the24 hours of Le Mans road race in 1993 and in 1996,[10][11] along with theDakar Rally.[5]
| Year | Team | Co-drivers | Car | Class | Laps | Pos. | Class pos. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1993 |  Porsche Kremer Racing |  Almo Coppelli Robin Donovan | Porsche 962CK6 | C2 | 204 | DNF | DNF |
| 1996 | Kremer Racing |  George Fouché Stanley Dickens | Kremer K8 Spyder | LMP1 | 58 | DNF | DNF |
Fossett tried six times over seven years for the first solo balloon circumnavigation. His fifth attempt cost him $1.25 million of his own money; his sixth and successful attempt was commercially sponsored.[3] Two of the attempts were launched fromBusch Memorial Stadium inSt. Louis, Missouri.Washington University in St. Louis served as control center for four of the six flights, including the record-breaking one.[9]
In 1998, one of the unsuccessful attempts at the ballooning record ended with a five-mile (8 km) plummet into theCoral Sea off the coast of Australia that nearly killed Fossett;[27] he waited 72 hours to be rescued, at a cost of $500,000.[9][46][47] The first attempt began in the Black Hills ofSouth Dakota and ended outsideHampton, New Brunswick 1,800 miles (2,900 km) later. The second attempt, launched from Busch Stadium, cost $300,000 and lasted 9,600 miles (15,400 km) before being downed halfway in a tree inIndia; the trip set records at the time for duration and distance of flight (with Fossett doubling his own previous record) and was calledSolo Spirit after Lindbergh'sSpirit of St. Louis.[5][9] Fossett slept an average of two hours a night for the six-day journey, conducted in below-zero temperatures. After taking too much fuel to cross the Atlantic Ocean and circlingLibya for 12 hours while officials decided whether or not to allow him into their airspace, Fossett did not have enough fuel to finish the flight. That year, Fossett flew farther for less money than better-financed expeditions (including one supported byVirgin Galactic founderRichard Branson) in part due to his ability to fly in an unpressurized capsule, a result of his heavy physical training at high altitudes.[5] TheSolo Spirit capsule was put on display at the Smithsonian's National Air and Space Museum across from theApollo 11 command module.[5]
In 2006, Fossett purchased theFormula Shell LSRVSpirit of America from formerland speed record holderCraig Breedlove. He rechristened the vehicle theSpirit of America Sonic Arrow and set about making improvements to the vehicle to break the land speed record. Fossett was initially unable to break even 675 miles per hour (1,086 km/h) with the vehicle but eventually hoped to raise its top speed to 800 miles per hour (1,300 km/h) and even 900 miles per hour (1,400 km/h). After his disappearance and death, his team's efforts continued until 2008. The vehicle was put up for auction in 2010.[48]
Fossett grew up inGarden Grove, California and earned the Eagle Scout award in 1957. He credited his experience in Scouting as a foundation for much of his later success. "As a Scout, I learned how to set goals and achieve them," he once said. "Being a Scout also taught me leadership at a young age when there are few opportunities to be a leader. Scouting values have remained with me throughout my life, in my business career, and now as I take on new challenges."[7] In his later years, he was described as a "legend" by fellow Scouts. As a national BSA volunteer, he served as Chairman of the Northern Tier High Adventure Committee, Chairman of the Venturing Committee, member of the Philmont Ranch Committee, and member of the National Advisory Council. He later became a member of the BSA National Executive Board, and in 2007, Fossett succeeded Secretary of DefenseRobert Gates as president of theNational Eagle Scout Association. Fossett previously had served on theWorld Scout Committee.[3]
Fossett was honored with theDistinguished Eagle Scout Award in 1992. In 1999, he received theSilver Buffalo Award, BSA's highest recognition of service to youth.[6]
In 2002, Fossett received aviation's highest award, the Gold Medal of theFédération Aéronautique Internationale (FAI) and in July 2007, he was inducted into theNational Aviation Hall of Fame.[2] He was presented at the ceremony byDick Rutan.
In 1997, Fossett was inducted into the Balloon and Airship Hall of Fame.[3] In February 2002, Fossett was named America'sRolex Yachtsman of the Year by theAmerican Sailing Association at theNew York Yacht Club.[13] He was the oldest recipient of the award in its 41-year history, and the only recipient to fly himself to the ceremony in his own plane.[13]
He received the Explorers Medal from theExplorers Club following his solo balloon circumnavigation. He was given the Diplôme de Montgolfier by theFédération Aéronautique Internationale in 1996. He received theHarmon Trophy, given annually "to the world's outstanding aviator and aeronaut", in 1998 and 2002. He received the Grande Médaille of theAéro-Club de France, and the BritishRoyal Aero Club's Gold Medal in 2002. He received theOrder of Magellan and theFrench Republic'sMédaille de l'Aéronautique in 2003.[3]
TheWhite Knight Two VMSSpirit of Steve Fossett[49] was named in Fossett's honor by his friendRichard Branson in late 2007.[50][51] Following his disappearance, Peggy Fossett and Dick Rutan accepted the Spread Wings Award on Fossett's behalf at the 2007 Spreading Wings Gala,Wings Over the Rockies Air and Space Museum,Denver, Colorado.[52]
In 2010, Fossett was inducted into theInternational Air & Space Hall of Fame at theSan Diego Air & Space Museum.[53]
At 8:45 a.m. on the morning of Monday, September 3, 2007, Fossett took off in a single-engine Champion 8KCABSuper Decathlon light aircraft from theFlying-M Ranch private airstrip, nearSmith Valley, Nevada. When he failed to return, searches were launched about six hours later. There was no signal from the plane'semergency locator transmitter (ELT) designed to be automatically activated in the event of a crash, but it was of an older type notorious for failing to operate after a crash.[54]
It was first thought that Fossett may have also been wearing aBreitling Emergency watch with a manually operated ELT that had a range of up to 90 miles (140 km), but no signal was received from it. On September 13, Fossett's wife, Peggy, issued a statement clarifying that he owned such a watch but was not wearing it when he took off for the Labor Day flight.[55]
Fossett took off with enough fuel for four to five hours of flight, according to spokesperson Major Cynthia S. Ryan, Public Information Officer with theCivil Air Patrol (CAP).[56] Searchers with CAP were told that Fossett had gone out for a short flight, possibly including the areas of Lucky Boy Pass andWalker Lake. CAP Major Cynthia Ryan suggested that he might have been out scouting for potential sites to conduct a planned land speed run, though Fossett's wife said the flight was a pleasure trip.[57] Fossett apparently did not file aflight plan and was not required to do so.[58]
On the second day, CAP aircraft searched but found no trace of wreckage after initiating a complex and expanding search of what later evolved into a nearly 20,000 square miles (52,000 km2) area of some of the most rugged terrain in North America. On the first day of CAP searching, operations were suspended by mid-day due to high winds, according to Ryan. By the fourth day, the CAP was using fourteen aircraft in the search effort, including one equipped with theARCHER system that could automatically scan detailed imaging for a given signature of the missing aircraft.[59]
By September 10, search crews reported eight previously unidentified crash sites,[60] some of which were decades old.[61] After accounting for double-counted sites and prior wrecks recorded by the NTSB, this was reduced to three previously undiscovered plane wrecks.[62] The urgency of what was still regarded as a rescue mission meant that minimal immediate effort was made to identify the aircraft in the uncharted crash sites,[63] although some had speculated that one could have belonged toCharles Clifford Ogle, missing since 1964.[64] About two dozen aircraft were involved in the massive search, operating from the primary search base atMinden, Nevada, with a secondary search base located atBishop, California.
On September 7,Google Inc. helped the search for the aviator through its connections to contractors that providesatellite imagery for itsGoogle Earth software. British entrepreneurRichard Branson, a friend of Fossett, said he and others were coordinating efforts with Google to see if any of the high-resolution images might include Fossett's aircraft.[65]
On September 8, the first of a series of new high-resolution imagery fromDigitalGlobe was made available via theAmazon Mechanical Turk beta website so that users could flag potential areas of interest for searching. By September 11, up to 50,000 people had joined the effort, scrutinizing more than 300,000 278-square-foot (26 m2) squares of the imagery. Peter Cohen of Amazon believed that by September 11, the entire search area had been covered at least once.
Amazon's search effort was shut down the week of October 29, without any measurable success.[66][67] Major Cynthia Ryan later said it had been more of a hindrance than a help.[67] She said that persons purporting to have seen the aircraft on the Mechanical Turk or have special knowledge clogged her email during critical days of the search, and for even months afterward. Many of the ostensible sightings proved to be images of CAP aircraft flying search grids, or simply mistaken artifacts of old images.
Psychics flooded the search base in Minden with predictions of where the aviator could be found. One man from Canada was particularly persistent with daily calls to Ryan.[citation needed] Ryan noted that every message, letter, or phone call was taken seriously, which swamped the USAF specialists assigned the task of reviewing every one of them without regard to apparent plausibility. In retrospect, the crowdsource effort was "not ready for prime time", according to Ryan.[citation needed]
On September 12, survival experts speculated that Fossett was likely to be dead.[68]
On September 17, the Nevada wing of the Civil Air Patrol said it was suspending all flights in connection with its search operations,[69] but National Guard search flights, private search flights and ground searches continued.[70]
TheNational Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) began a preliminary investigation into the likely crash of the plane that Fossett was flying.[71] The preliminary report stated that Fossett was "presumed fatally injured and the aircraft substantially damaged", but was subsequently revised to remove that assumption.[72]Branson made similar public statements.[73]
On September 19, 2007, authorities confirmed they would stop actively looking for Fossett in the Nevada Desert, but would keep air crews on standby to fly to possible crash sites.[74] On September 30, it was announced that after further analysis of radar data from the day of his disappearance, ground teams and two aircraft had resumed the search.[75]
On October 2, 2007, CAP announced it had called off its search operation.[76] Ryan later noted that the search was the largest, most complex peacetime search for an individual in U.S. history.[citation needed]
In July 2008,Simon Donato's Team Adventure Science searched for a week on the Nevada–California border.[77] On August 23, 2008, almost a year after Fossett disappeared, twenty-eight friends and admirers conducted a foot search based on new information and computer modeling. That search concluded on September 10.[78][79]
On May 1, 2008, theLas Vegas Review-Journal attributed to Nevada State GovernorJim Gibbons' spokesman, Ben Kieckhefer,[80] the Governor's decision to direct the state to charge Steve Fossett's family for the $687,000 expense of the search for Fossett.[81] Kieckhefer later played that early report down, when he told theTahoe Daily Tribune that Nevada did not intend to demand an involuntary payment from Fossett's widow, but that such a payment would be voluntary: "We are going to request that they help offset some of these expenses, considering the scope of the search, the overall cost as well as our ongoing budget difficulties."[82] HotelierBarron Hilton, from whose ranch Fossett had departed on the day he went missing, had previously volunteered $200,000 to help pay for the search costs.[81][82]
In his later comments to theTahoe Daily Tribune, Kieckhefer denied outright that a bill for the family was being prepared. Kieckefer said, "It will probably be in the form of a letter",[82] which he indicated would include a financial outline of the steps taken by the state, the associated costs, and a mention of the state's ongoing budget difficulties.[82]
Days prior to this announcement, state Emergency Management Director Frank Siracusa noted that "there is no precedent where government will go after people for costs just because they have money to pay for it. You get lost, and we look for you. It is a service your taxpayer dollars pay for",[81] although he conceded that legally any decision would rest with Gibbons.
At an April 10, 2008, Legislature's Interim Finance Committee hearing, Siracusa indicated that he had hired an independent auditor to review costs incurred by the state in searching for Fossett, but added, "We are doing an audit but not because we are critical of anybody or suspect something was done wrong".[81][83] Chairman Morse Arberry queried Siracusa as to why, since they lacked funds, had the state not billed the Fossett family for its search costs, to which Siracusa did not directly respond.[81][83]
In a later interview with theLas Vegas Review-Journal, Siracusa stated that his comments to the Committee may have given the false impression that he had hired an auditor for the purpose of later challenging the state's financial burden incurred on its behalf by the National Guard during the search operation.[81] Upon interview regarding reports that the state would seek payment, Arberry was recorded as stating that he was glad to hear steps were being taken to try to recoup some of the costs.[82]
The Nevada search cost $1.6 million, "the largest search and rescue effort ever conducted for a person within the U.S." Jim Gibbons asked Fossett's estate to shoulder $487,000, but it declined, saying Fossett's wife had already spent $1 million on private searching.[84]
On September 29, 2008, a hiker found three crumpled identification cards in the easternSierra Nevada in California about 65 miles (100 km) south (186 degrees) of Fossett's take-off site. The items were confirmed as belonging to Fossett and included anFAA-issued card, hisSoaring Society of America membership card and $1,005 in cash.[85][86]
On October 1, late in the day, air search teams spotted wreckage on the ground at an elevation of 10,100 feet (3,100 m), about 750 yards (690 m) from where the personal items had been found. Later that evening the teams confirmed identification of thetail number of Fossett's plane.[87][88]
The crash site is located on the western side of a ridge (Volcanic Ridge)[89] whose orientation is northwest/southeast,[90][91] at37°40′N119°08′W / 37.667°N 119.133°W /37.667; -119.133.[92] The site is about 300 feet (91 m) below the crest of the ridge. The steep terrain was sparsely forested withPonderosa pines averaging 40 feet (12 m) to 60 feet (18 m) tall. Numerous boulders and rock outcrops surrounded by grassy areas covered the ground.[90]
The crash site is within theAnsel Adams Wilderness inMadera County, California. Other named places near the site include Minaret Mine (2,000 feet (600 m) west), Emily Lake (0.7 miles (1.1 km) northeast),Minaret Lake (1.8 miles (2.9 km) west-southwest), theMinaret peaks (3 miles (5 km) west),Devils Postpile National Monument (4.5 miles (7.2 km) southeast), and the town ofMammoth Lakes (the nearest populated place, 9 miles (14 km) east-southeast). The site is 10 miles (16 km) east ofYosemite National Park.[91]
Over the next two days, ground searchers found four bone fragments that were about 2 by 1.5 inches (5 by 4 cm) in size.[87][93] However, the bones were found to be either not human or too small for DNA tests.[94]
On October 29, search teams recovered two large human bones that they suspected might belong to Fossett. These bones were found 0.5 miles (0.80 km) east of the crash site. Tennis shoes with animal bite marks on them were also recovered.[94][95][96]
On November 3, California police coroners said thatDNA profiling of the two bones by a California Department of Justice forensics laboratory confirmed a match to Fossett's DNA. Madera County Sheriff John Anderson said Fossett would have died on impact in such a crash, and that it was not unusual for animals to drag remains away.[95]
On March 5, 2009, the NTSB issued its report and findings.[90][97] The report states that the plane crashed at an elevation of about 10,000 feet (3,000 m), 300 feet (90 m) below the crest of the ridge. The elevation of peaks in the area exceeded 13,000 feet (4,000 m). However, thedensity altitude in the area at the time and place of the crash was estimated to be 12,700 feet (3,900 m).
The aircraft, a tandem two-seater, was nearly 30 years old and Fossett had flown approximately 40 hours in this type. The plane's operating manual says that at an altitude of 13,000 feet (4,000 m) therate of climb would be 300 feet per minute (about 1.5 m/s).[90]
The NTSB report says that "a meteorologist fromSalinas provided a numerical simulation of the conditions in the accident area using the WRF-ARW (Advanced Research Weather Research and Forecasting) numerical model. At 0930 [the approximate time of the crash] the model displayed downdrafts in that area of approximately 300 feet per minute." There was no evidence of equipment failure.[90]
The report stated that a postmortem examination of the skeletal fragments had been performed under the auspices of the Madera County Sheriff's Department. The cause of death was determined to be multiple traumatic injuries. The ELT was destroyed by the crash.[90]
On July 9, 2009, the NTSB declared the probable cause of the crash as "the pilot's inadvertent encounter with downdrafts that exceeded the climb capability of the airplane. Contributing to the accident were the downdrafts, high density altitude, and mountainous terrain."[98]
Notes
Absolute altitude: 15 460 m, Date of flight: 29/08/2006, Pilot: Steve Fossett (USA), Crew: Einar Enevoldson (USA), Course/place: El Calafate (Argentina), Glider: Glaser-Dirks DG-505, Registered 'N577SF'
I had permission to do a low pass over the airport, and then I came around, landed and taxied up to the door of the museum and gave it to them.
The small plane piloted by Fossett, 63, was equipped with an older emergency beacon that is notorious for failing to operate after crashes, according to federal safety officials and the agencies that monitor the emergency beacons.
Fossett's wife, Peggy, issued a statement Thursday in response to questions about whether her husband was wearing a watch with an emergency transmitter on his flight. She said he owned such a Breitling watch but did not bring it on the trip.
According to CAP, a set of parameters describing the intended target, including its color and shape, is programmed into the ARCHER system.
The search for Fossett across a 17,000-square-mile (44,000 km2) swath of the Sierra Nevada has revealed the wreckage of eight other small planes ...
...another downed plane Friday that was spotted on a hillside about 45 miles (72 km) southeast of Reno ... turned out to be an old crash, a plane last registered in Oregon in 1975
At one point in the search for Mr. Fossett, officials thought that they had found as many as eight new wrecks. But Mr. Derks said some were spotted more than once, and others had been logged by the National Transportation Safety Board.
...Little is known about the eight crashes spotted in the past week, because searchers "put boots on the ground" only long enough to ascertain they were not Fossett's plane, said Civil Air Patrol spokeswoman Maj. Cynthia Ryan.
In their quest to find missing aviator Steve Fossett, searchers have come across eight uncharted plane crash wreckage sites. But none of the wrecks shed light on what may have happened to the multimillionaire.
...the National Transportation Safety Board's officials preliminary report noted that Fossett was "presumed fatally injured and the aircraft substantially damaged."
The Civil Air Patrol has called off the search for multimillionaire adventurer Steve Fossett, nearly a month after he took off from a Nevada ranch, the agency announced Tuesday.
Government's cost to hunt for multimillionaire was $687,000
Kieckhefer said any assistance from the Fossett family would be voluntary.
(The cards) both are authentic, and both have been confirmed that they do in fact belong to Steve Fossett
{{cite news}}:Check|url= value (help)'It was a hard-impact crash, and he would've died instantly', said Jeff Page, emergency management coordinator for Lyon County, Nev., who assisted in the search.
{{cite journal}}:Cite journal requires|journal= (help)[dead link]Further reading
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