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Steve Fossett Missing

Posted by kdawson on Tue Sep 04, 2007 02:13 PM
from the high-flier dept.
News
jd writes "Steve Fossett, the first person to fly a plane around the world without refueling, the first person to fly around the world in a balloon, and possibly the record-holder for the highest-altitude glider flight, is missing in Nevada. He is reported to have taken off in a light aircraft last night and has not been seen since. As he had filed no flight plan, would-be rescuers have no idea where to even begin looking. The plane took off from a private airstrip on a ranch at the south end of Smith Valley in western Nevada."
+ -
story

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Submission: Steve Fossett Missing by jd (1658)
[+] Help Find Steve Fossett 439 comments
An anonymous reader invites us to join in the hunt for the missing Steve Fossett using Amazon's Mechanical Turk. DigitalGlobe, one of Google's imaging partners, has acquired new high-resolution satellite imagery of the area where Fossett disappeared on Monday. The public can now go through this imagery and quickly flag any images that might contain Fossett's plane. Flagged images will receive further review by search and rescue experts.
[+] Science: Steve Fossett's Unfinished Project 97 comments
MazzThePianoman writes "Steve Fossett left behind a secret vessel project called the Deep Flight Challenger. Fossett was funding the development of a winged submersible being designed by Hawkes Ocean Technologies in California. The intent was for the vehicle to be capable of travel to the very bottom of the ocean — the Mariana Trench, more than 11,000 meters beneath the surface. 'It would have dramatically, dramatically opened the oceans for exploration. It would have been a game changer,' said Graham Hawkes, the designer. Testing had been completed at Department of Defense facilities. Field testing was only four weeks away when Fossett's untimely death, a year ago, put the project on hold." Hawkes Ocean Technologies owns the design, but the vehicle itself is owned by Fossett's estate.
[+] Bones Found Near Crash Site Confirmed Fossett's 129 comments
Trip6 writes "Bones found near the wreckage of the plane flown by Steve Fossett when he disappeared last fall have been confirmed to be Fossett's by DNA analysis. The NTSB is still investigating the crash. Fossett may have been searching for a place to break the land speed record, his next quest."
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  • Did he fly over Area 51 or somewhere he shouldn't have?

  • In other news (Score:5, Funny)

    by hax0r_this (1073148) on Tuesday September 04 2007, @02:15PM (#20468187)
    The US Military denied claims that a UFO had been shot down last night over Area 51.

  • Comb the Desert! (Score:5, Funny)

    by Red_Foreman (877991) * on Tuesday September 04 2007, @02:15PM (#20468189)
    Find anything yet?

    Nothing yet, sir.

    Find anything yet?

    Nothing yet, sir.

    How about you?

    We ain't found shit!

  • The winds were NOT very high this morning.... (Score:4, Informative)

    by rickst29 (553930) on Tuesday September 04 2007, @02:20PM (#20468263)
    Although the upcoming cold front is expected to create high winds this afternoon, conditions this morning were quite good. I hope that he was able to ditch in a survivable place, and pray for his safety.
    • On the other hand, we can assume that his aircraft had a very respectable two-way radio. Whatever the misfortune was, it must have been fast enough that he was not able to send any kind of message. Well, yes, that assumes that there was no significant obstruction and there was anyone listening - neither of which can be guaranteed in a remote area - but it seems most likely that disaster struck fast.

      Light aircraft parachutes have been around for some time now, and emergency beacons are practically a throw-away item. At this point in the light aircraft/experimental aircraft game, fatal crashes involving the ground (as opposed to buildings, mountains, seagulls, etc) should be relatively rare and rescuers should never be stumped.

      Yes, I most definitely hope Steve Fossett is safe, but whether he is safe or not, I think that given the current state of technology, it would be good if questions were being asked as to why we don't even know. Are the parachutes so overpriced or unavailable that even someone like Mr. Fossett could not afford one? Are the laws on transmitters so onerous that only idiots would fly with a distress beacon of adequate power?

      (Yes, people should be entitled to take whatever risks they like with their own lives, provided they understand what those are, but implicit in the concept of entitlement is that it is practical and lawful to mitigate those risks as much as possible when doing exactly the same thing. Otherwise, it is not the risk that has the entitlement, it's the activity. The risk is mandatory.)

      • Re:The winds were NOT very high this morning.... (Score:5, Informative)

        by cmowire (254489) on Tuesday September 04 2007, @03:03PM (#20468821) Homepage
        Actually, things are the other way around.

        Sufficient requirements for design and inspection make even single-engined aircraft astonishingly reliable.

        Most accidents are caused by operator error -- either fuel starvation, controlled-flight-into-terrain, or unsafe flying.

        Also, ballistic parachutes are not available for all aircraft. There needs to be an appropriate structural member for them to be attached to and the correct parachute characteristics need to be set. Only with ultralights can you buy one off the rack.

        Likewise, an emergency locater beacon generally needs to survive the accident and be triggered, either automatically or manually. These aren't built like airliner black-boxes.

  • Check Ireland (Score:4, Interesting)

    by Maniakes (216039) on Tuesday September 04 2007, @02:20PM (#20468267) Journal
    That's where Douglas "Wrong Way" Corrigan [wikipedia.org] ended up when he tried to fly from New York to California.

  • Paging Francisco D'Anconia (Score:5, Funny)

    by Gothmolly (148874) on Tuesday September 04 2007, @02:22PM (#20468285)
    Perhaps he's in a secret valley somewhere, protected by a holographic screen, with other adventurers and industrialists, plotting a takeover of the world?

  • No idea where to look? (Score:5, Funny)

    by Bluesman (104513) on Tuesday September 04 2007, @02:22PM (#20468293) Homepage
    I'd start looking on the ground.

  • New record attempt? (Score:5, Funny)

    by Skiron (735617) on Tuesday September 04 2007, @02:25PM (#20468331) Homepage
    Maybe he is trying to break the world record for the longest search party?

  • Possibly down in one piece. (Score:5, Informative)

    by reality-bytes (119275) on Tuesday September 04 2007, @02:26PM (#20468341) Homepage
    He's out in a single engine piston aircraft so if the motor went quiet, the only option would be to land.

    In theory and from what I know of Nevada's geography, finding somewhere reasonable to put the plane down shouldn't be a big issue.

    However, once down, he may be right up the middle of nowhere. You'd assume he'd just get on the radio but if it's an old Bellanca, there may be no battery power available, in a new Bellanca the fault that stopped the engine may also prevent the radio from working. Nevada's geography with raised ranges may block a radio signal in places and it may even be the case that he went out 'non-radio' as some pilots still do.

    I do rather hope he's okay but the moral here is never go x-country without 'booking-out' first even if that means just telling your friend where you're going.

    • Re: (Score:3, Insightful)

      by jsight (8987)
      There aren't exactly a lot of "new bellancas", but if it were one, I don't really understand how that would make a difference. They still use mags, so there's nothing that would kill the engine that would also kill the radio.

      Unless you count post-crash fire. :(

    • Geography? (Score:5, Informative)

      by asphaltjesus (978804) on Tuesday September 04 2007, @02:50PM (#20468645)
      Nevada is not a giant dry lake bed.

      As someone who has traversed just a tiny bit of the variety of off-highway terrain Nevada/Arizona/Utah/East California has to offer, I find it doubtful he could put it down safely. If he went due north, then it doesn't get any easier to land it.

      Let's imagine for a minute he gets insanely lucky and lands without killing himself. He's exposed to some of the hottest, driest weather in the US. How much drinking water is in single-engine plane? How much water could he carry if he were crazy enough to consider walking out?

    • Re: (Score:3, Informative)

      by ptbarnett (159784)
      I do rather hope he's okay but the moral here is never go x-country without 'booking-out' first even if that means just telling your friend where you're going.

      He did, at least to the extent possible. According to Yahoo's latest article:

      "We understand that Steve Fossett was flying solo and he was carrying four full tanks of gas on board. He was searching for dry and empty lake beds which might be suitable for his plan to break the land speed record." [yahoo.com]

      He didn't file a flight plan, because he didn't ha

        • Re:Possibly down in one piece. (Score:4, Informative)

          by dougmc (70836) <dougmc+slashdot@frenzied.us> on Tuesday September 04 2007, @02:59PM (#20468761) Homepage
          For VFR [wikipedia.org] flights, flight plans [wikipedia.org] are optional and very often not filed for (what are expected to be) routine flights.


          I don't know anything about this particular case, but his plane is probably equipped with an ELT [wikipedia.org] which would probably be going off if he crashed. Unless he crashed really hard and broke the ELT too. (Crashing in water is another popular way of stopping them from working ...)

          Hopefully it's all much ado about nothing and he's just landed somewhere (normally) and is enjoying the local scenery, unaware that he's lost ... though I guess that's unlikely at this point.

          • For VFR [wikipedia.org] flights, flight plans [wikipedia.org] are optional and very often not filed for (what are expected to be) routine flights.

            I've taken enough flying classes to call BS on that. There is no such thing as a "routine flight". Hell, he could have at least phoned a friend, or one of the guys in the tower and given them a rough idea idea of where he'd be headed.

  • Misleading summary (Score:5, Informative)

    by rossdee (243626) on Tuesday September 04 2007, @02:28PM (#20468377)
    Fossett may have been the first to fly SOLO around the world, but Dick Rutan and Jeana Yeager flew round the world non stop without refueling in 1986.
  • Which gives him a good shot at safely landing the plane in an emergency. Unfortunately, if he lands in the middle of the desert, he might have a very hard time getting back to civilization before his water runs out. Also: it doesn't matter how good a pilot he is, if there was serious mechanical failure on that plane during flight he would have had to bring it down. There is no option.

    His biggest mistake: not filing that flight plan. Huge *huge* fuckup.

    • Re:Fortunately, Arizona is flat (Score:5, Insightful)

      by Nimey (114278) on Tuesday September 04 2007, @02:37PM (#20468487) Homepage Journal

      His biggest mistake: not filing that flight plan. Huge *huge* fuckup.


      Quoted for truth. Private pilots, for the love of your friends and relatives, PLEASE file a flight plan whenever and wherever you fly. It's fucking hard to find a crash site if you don't know where to look and have to guess based on the aircraft's range. It's also a major waste of rescue time and resources, and you have an excellent chance of dying from exposure or injuries before you're found.

      IOW, just crash the damn airplane into a cornfield somewhere if you want to commit suicide. Leave a note first.

  • Doesnt look good... (Score:5, Interesting)

    by tgatliff (311583) on Tuesday September 04 2007, @02:46PM (#20468583)
    One of the other article says he took off flying a Citaborea, which means he was going up to do aerobatics because this is a quite slow airplane for anything else.... (NOTE: Citaborea means aerobatic spelled backwards). I do not remember him being an experienced aerobatic pilot, which is a considerably different skill than just being a pilot. Meaning, I feel I am a great pilot, but a not so good aerobatic pilot other than weather related recovery type turns. I would guess he probably got in a little over his head while doing aerobatics, and went down.

    I hope this is not the case, but this type of thing is fairly common in the aerobatic world. Hence, the reason why they require the use of parachute(s)...

    • Re:Doesnt look good... (Score:5, Informative)

      by Nimey (114278) on Tuesday September 04 2007, @02:55PM (#20468719) Homepage Journal
      ITYM "Citabria" (airbatic backwards). You can use them for just buzzing around; they're about the same speed as a Piper Cub and people do make (short) trips in those.

    • Re:Doesnt look good... (Score:5, Informative)

      by RockyMountain (12635) on Tuesday September 04 2007, @03:14PM (#20469011) Homepage
      Sorry to nitpick, but it's not a Citaborea, it's a Citabria. It's "airbatic" spelt backwards, not "aerobatic".

      And I _very_ much doubt your claim that Steve Fossett is inexperienced in Aerobatics. On the contrary, 5 minutes browsing his biography will convince you that this man's aeronautical experience is immensely broad. It's inconceivable that someone with his tremendous breadth of flying experience and appetite for adventure never bothered to train in aerobatics.

      Just consider the number of experimental/prototype/one-of-a-kind planes he has test flown and then set records in. You don't test-fly these things without a substantial background in aerobatics.

      And I doubt that his intent for the Citabria flight involved aerobatics. Despite the name, those planes are barely capable of aerobatics at all. A Citabria is about the last choice someone of Steve's wealth and experience is likely to choose for aerobatics. Much more likely, he chose to fly a Citarbria because of the things it's _good_ for: Slow, low, relaxed, sightseeing flight, short-field takeoff and landing, etc.

      (PS I'm speaking as an aerobatic pilot myself, and also a former Citabria owner).

    • http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Citabria [wikipedia.org]

      First I heard it was "aerobatic" backwards.

      I only read the linked article, it didn't say which Bellanca. Super Viking would have been a decent choice, but I'll check again for the linked articles.

      • This aircraft is "capable" of aerobatics - even inverted flight (it's main edge over the Decathalon), but it's really just an extremely rugged hi-wing tandem.

        A great Bush plane actually, I wouldn't assume he was going up to do aerobatics based upon that.

  • Uh Oh (Score:4, Funny)

    by Atmchicago (555403) on Tuesday September 04 2007, @03:32PM (#20469265) Homepage

    It looks like Fossett may have gone down the drain. Water we going to do about it!? If we want to find him we may have to tap all our resources.

  • Whether or not he was stupid, can we stop laughing (Score:3, Insightful)

    by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday September 04 2007, @05:47PM (#20471343)
    Bearing in mind the guy might be dead, I find it a bit distasteful we're laughing about it.
    He may or may not have been stupid or suicidal or whatever, but for the sake of his family, friends etc, can we stop making cheap fucking jokes about it.

    • Re:The obvious (Score:5, Funny)

      by hax0r_this (1073148) on Tuesday September 04 2007, @02:21PM (#20468283)
      Aliens abudcted a racecar driver?

      • Aliens abudcted a racecar driver?
        No, GP is obviously referring to Dr. Larry Erhardt - who mysteriously disappeared from Deep 13 and was later eaten by a giant spider.

          • GP is obviously referring to Dr. Larry Erhardt

            More likely Amelia Earhart [ameliaearhart.com]

            Of right, I forgot... Amelia Earhart was the one who was abducted by aliens, while Larry Erhardt's disappearance was never satisfactorily explained...

      • Re:sounds like this was just a short flight (Score:5, Insightful)

        by jollyreaper (513215) on Tuesday September 04 2007, @02:54PM (#20468693)

        No, Alanis, that wouldn't be "ironic." It'd be unfortunate.
        You don't think it's ironic for an aviation pioneer and adventurer to die on a sedate, routine flight?

        Irony
        5. an outcome of events contrary to what was, or might have been, expected.
        6. the incongruity of this.

        Usage Note: The words ironic, irony, and ironically are sometimes used of events and circumstances that might better be described as simply "coincidental" or "improbable," in that they suggest no particular lessons about human vanity or folly. Thus 78 percent of the Usage Panel rejects the use of ironically in the sentence In 1969 Susie moved from Ithaca to California where she met her husband-to-be, who, ironically, also came from upstate New York. Some Panelists noted that this particular usage might be acceptable if Susie had in fact moved to California in order to find a husband, in which case the story could be taken as exemplifying the folly of supposing that we can know what fate has in store for us. By contrast, 73 percent accepted the sentence Ironically, even as the government was fulminating against American policy, American jeans and videocassettes were the hottest items in the stalls of the market, where the incongruity can be seen as an example of human inconsistency.
        Served.

      • Re:sounds like this was just a short flight (Score:4, Insightful)

        by tompaulco (629533) on Tuesday September 04 2007, @03:45PM (#20469445) Homepage Journal
        That's a loaded statement. There are plenty of things in the world more dangerous than a GA aircraft. For example: a motorcycle, a chainsaw, a lawnmower. GA aircraft have a slightly poorer record than cars in terms of fatalities per hour, and a much better record in terms of accidents per hour. The vast majority of GA accidents have little to do with the mechanical condition of the plane, and much more to do with stupid things done by the user (imagine that).

    • Re: (Score:3, Interesting)

      by lpangelrob (714473)
      I am not an aviator, so I consulted Wikipedia and recalled the thing about flight plans.

      They are required in IFR (i.e., bad weather). They are not required in VFR, but are a good idea, in case this sort of thing happens.

      After taking 5 different small-craft flights in the last week (vacation), I noted that a flight plan was filed only once - in heavy traffic around Denali. Weather the rest of the time was good enough, and the flights short enough, to not require a flight plan. Plus there weren't any ATC towe

    • Re: (Score:3, Insightful)

      by delcielo (217760)
      As mentioned by others, a flight plan is not required for VFR flight. There are reasons for this (and yes, they are debatable); but it is generally considered that even if they aren't required, they are wise. Statistically, you are found faster if you have one on file. The authorities are pretty good about tracking the overdue planes and initiating search and rescue. As somebody else mentioned, it is a good idea to at least check in with a family member before leaving and again when arriving. I call it

    • Re: (Score:3, Insightful)

      by jd (1658)
      Yes he was. There were two in Voyager, so each only flew it half-way.

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