Steve Fossett Crash Site Found
by James Buchanan
World famous adventurer Steve Fossett disappeared a little over a year ago on Sep. 3rd, 2007 after taking off in a light plane from a Nevada airport. Steve Fossett made his fortune in the financial services industry. His estate has been estimated at roughly 500 million dollars. Fossett was a close friend of billionaire adventurer, Richard Branson.
One of the most massive searches in history followed Fossett’s disappearance. Satellite pictures of Utah and Nevada were distributed to volunteers all over the world who downloaded the pictures looking for anything that might resemble a crashed airplane. Eight previously unknown crashed airplanes were found in the search. The search did not include parts of California because Fossett was reportedly looking for flat terrain for a planned attempt at a land speed record in a rocket car.
One news article reports “Searchers have renewed their hunt for the remains of missing millionaire Steve Fossett, after a hiker found the aviator’s identification papers near Mammoth Lakes in Madera County. The documents were the first pieces of physical evidence linked to the disappearance of the 63-year-old adventurer, who is believed to have died in a plane crash after taking off on a pleasure flight from a private airport south of Reno on Sept. 3, 2007. Tom Cage, owner of Kittredge Sports in Mammoth Lakes, said his store manager, Preston Morrow, found the identification cards - issued to Fossett by the Federal Aviation Administration and the Soaring Society of America - while day-hiking with his dog late Monday afternoon in the Inyo National Forest. ‘(The cards) both are authentic, and both have been confirmed that they do in fact belong to Steve Fossett,’ said Madera County sheriff’s spokeswoman Erica Stuart. ‘He apparently was very fond of this particular area and was known to fly along the 395 corridor.’ Morrow found a pilot’s license and a glider license, both issued by the FAA, plus the membership card for the National Aeronautic Association, a nonprofit group that promotes aviation and gave Fossett an award in 2002 for setting a fistful of flying records. The hiker also found 10 $100 bills, a $5 bill and a weathered Nautica brand sweatshirt, Cage said. The articles were found at an elevation of 10,100 feet, 2 miles east of the Minarets and ‘about 6 miles into some very tough terrain,’ Cage said.” (more…)