Steve Fossett Declared Dead

Parallax Blue writes "Millionaire adventurer Steve Fossett, who risked his life seeking to set records in high-tech balloons, gliders and jets, was declared dead Friday, 5 months after he vanished while flying in an ordinary small plane. The self-made business tycoon, who in 2002 became the first person to circle the world solo in a balloon, was last seen Sept. 3 after taking off in a single-engine plane from an airstrip near Yerington, Nev., heading toward Bishop, Calif. He was 63."

...while flying in an ordinary small plane.

[Anonymous Coward]

As opposed to what? An extraordinary small plane? A fantastic small plane? A sub-par small plane?

Adjectives: You don't always need them.

Re:The man died with open eyes doing what he loved

[Timesprout]

I like to post dangerously on Slashdot to keep the blood flowing.

Boy, will she have some explaining to do...

[denzacar]

When he returns from China seven years later, after his ninja training, so he could fight crime in the streets as a billionaire super-hero.

Re:Faked death

[sakdoctor]

You mean like Hotblack from Disaster Area?

Re:Inappropriate tagging"

[Anonymous Coward]

Sure, you may not have known this guy personally, but that tag is in really poor taste.

Oh boo hoo. Some guy who used to do dangerous things because he was bored with his life had a date with Darwin. Cry me a river in people magazine, not here.

In other news, some other rich guy who only dates supermodels probably got dumped by a supermodel last week. Let's all mourn for his loss.

How would you like it if after someone you knew died, someone came up to you and said "he's dead. so what?".

If I were wanking on about it in a place where it had no business, I'd realize that the person was right.

Re:Am I the only one who likes to dream that...

[Tony Hoyle]

Legend? I'd never heard of the guy until he crashed, and from the looks of it all he did was spend loads of money on having fun. Nothing wrong with that, but he aint exactly mother theresa either.

Re:Welcome to a new low

[Fear the Clam]

Instead of attending stupid show-off parties, he used his money to make his dreams become reality.

Two chicks at the same time?

Guest Appearnce

[aplusjimages]

This is all part of the plan to have Steve show up on ABC's LOST as one of the survivors in the background.

too soon, too soon

Re:The man died with open eyes doing what he loved

[markov_chain]

I disagree, I think he was an awesome guy who did a lot of good things for the people around him!

Joe
HotBalloonSupplies.com

Re:Am I the only one who likes to dream that...

[exploder]

TThe moment Fossett vanished, I was in the air in my Cherokee not 100nm from his departure field.

100 nanometers? That's no ordinary small plane!

Re:As a pilot, I hate it when...

[fireboy1919]

I can guarantee you he was not loving it. I'd bet that the first emotion that he felt was anger at whatever caused the initial deviation from normal flight, followed by shock and apprehension in the final seconds once he realized he was in serious trouble.

You may be wrong about "what he loved" is referring to.

I personally, would be quite happy to die in a fiery explosion that produced a crater big enough to be visible from the moon. That'd be sweet (as long as no one else got hurt)! In that case, crashing wouldn't be what I loved, but making a crater would be.

"Doing what he loved" in some cases might also refer to some recreational pharmaceuticals and individuals of negotiable affection (though probably not in this case). I mean, with those involved, you might not actually notice you crashed until the ground rises up and smites you.

Re:Inappropriate tagging"

[tomhudson]

You know how it goes ... they make an appeal based on guilt - "but Jesus died for you!" - as if you should be grateful.

My response - "Did Jesus die for you?"

Their reply "for sure!"

Me: "So basically you're saying Jesus is a double-dipper."

Re:Wife wanted his will put into effect?

[jd]

Unless the aircraft is opened, the judge should rule him dead and alive at the same time.