Steve Fossett Missing 317
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."
The winds were NOT very high this morning.... (Score:4, Informative)
Possibly down in one piece. (Score:5, Informative)
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.
Misleading summary (Score:5, Informative)
Actually he was the first Solo around the world. (Score:1, Informative)
Geography? (Score:5, Informative)
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:Doesnt look good... (Score:5, Informative)
Re:Possibly down in one piece. (Score:4, Informative)
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.
Re:The winds were NOT very high this morning.... (Score:5, Informative)
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.
Re:Fortunately, Arizona is flat (Score:1, Informative)
Other stories are available..... (Score:3, Informative)
http://www.cnn.com/2007/US/09/04/fossett.missing/
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/6978818.stm [bbc.co.uk]
His profile is here:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/2078591.stm [bbc.co.uk]
Re:Doesnt look good... (Score:5, Informative)
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).
That's "Citabria" (Score:3, Informative)
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.
That guy was awesome. (Score:5, Informative)
The guy made the flight with a couple of candy bars and a bottle of water, and a fuel leak inside the cockpit which he knew about before he left, but didn't fix because he didn't want to miss his flight window.
It's that fine line between bravery and stupidity; he lived, so he was brave.
Ok, it's a Super Decathalon... (Score:3, Informative)
A great Bush plane actually, I wouldn't assume he was going up to do aerobatics based upon that.
Re:Possibly down in one piece. (Score:3, Informative)
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 have a specific destination.
Re:No flight plan? No beacon? (Score:1, Informative)
Re:Fortunately, Arizona is flat (Score:2, Informative)
Re:Geography? (Score:3, Informative)
A lack of water and the generally high temperatures are probably his biggest concerns depending on where he landed. On the same token it's going to be cold tonight and it's going to be getting cooler throughout the week. The varied terrain can mean that while water is nearby it's difficult to get to. There might be a river
If he did indeed take off from the Flying M and not another ranch with a private air strip then this should be the starting point for his flight:
http://maps.google.com/?ie=UTF8&ll=38.611438,-119
Pan around the map a bit and you can see how much the terrain changes. Keep in mind that he was out looking for a place to break a land speed record and you might be able to narrow it down a bit, but it's certainly not a small area and the terrain doesn't exactly lend itself to searches.
Re:Fortunately, Arizona is flat (Score:2, Informative)