Famous Adventurous Steve Fossett MISSING!!

World Famous Adventurous Steve Fossett missing Link http://www.cbc.ca/cp/world/070905/w090502A.html

He has contributed so much to many fields, but mostly Aviation, here's hoping he is found alive and Okay.

 

Hopes fade more and more, as each day passes. :cry Bazza

 

I have been following that on the news, too. It's a shame that he didn't file a flight plan. Hopefully, he is found alive and well.

 

Can anyone tell me why Steve was flying the equivalent of a model T Ford into Tiger country when he obviously has the resources to obtain any aircraft that he desired, please don't try to tell me how strong stable maneuverable forgiving & agile this good old plane is, I know they are a nice old aircraft to fly, the operative word being old!!!! the airframe was designed in the 1920s ( OK they now have an aluminum main spar ) and the engine that powers it was on the drawing board not long after, In 21st century terms the aircraft has the aerodynamics of a SWB Toyota Landcruser and an engine that would be more at home in a 1948 VW mmmmm cable brakes & 180hp maybe not, but I am sure you get my point.

What is going on ??? why is this rubbish still being produced ??? Cessna is still pumping out 172s 182s etc is that the best they can come up with after 60 years!!!!!, god help us!!! most of the equipment and systems found in light aircraft at most airports/fields was designed pre 1960 you would not even consider fitting any of it to your car at any price, but pilots are expected to operate this antiquated machinery in Tiger country.

Please don't get me wrong I think steve is a extraordinary aviator in my book he is right up there with the best of the best, I hope to god he is sitting under the wing right now wondering how long before the cavalry arrive, and possibly pondering on how to rectify all of the above.

 

Agree with e4278789 totally. I wondered why it was only a single engined plane. At least have a spare engine as planes don't glide forever. Bazza

 

Latest on Fossett http://www.cbc.ca/world/story/2007/09/06/fossett-missing.html Getting stranger and stranger as the days go on

 

:confused I thought the only tigers in Nevada belonged to Siegfried and Roy.

Fosset was searching out areas for a land speed record. Those aeodynamic, multi-engined 'modern' planes are not capable of the slow speeds he needed to take a good look at near ground level altitudes. He had the right tool for the job.

 

He would have been much better off hiring a helicopter, and riding as passenger if he doesn't have a helo licence. IMO, of course. Bazza

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Ditto! The whole thing sounds strange with too many unanswered questions...just hope there's a positive outcome.

 

The right tool for the job!!!! in your dreames!!!!!!!! the only tool for the job he was doing is a twin engine aircraft, and by the sound of things the very dangerous winds that are more than common in the area indicate that a aircraft with a high wing loading and a real engine (turboprop) would come in handy, if safety was really a consideration a twin engine helicopter would have been the only choice. so far they have found 6 crashed aircraft that they have never
AS for twin engined aircraft that are available to safely do the job ???? well there is the Shorts skyvan---Twin Pioner---Patenavia p68--- to name but a few that can safely land anywhere that you can land and takeoff in a Citabra super Decathlon.
As for Tiger country ??? ask any pilot he will tell you exactly where it is, so far they have found 6 crashed aircraft that have never seen before in the area that Steve is in, sounds like Tiger country to me, why is anyone really surprised that Steve vanished, he was flying the same crap as the other six crash cases we know about 100s we dont know about.
No flight plan in country like that ????????????

 

Sorry for bringing this thread up again, it seems that Fossett has nowbeen declared legally dead: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/americas/7248161.stm

 

I've been thinking about Steve Fossett lately and wondered if they had found anything. I also heard yesterday that he has been declared dead. A real bummer. :cry Bazza

 

Missing for 5 months and declared dead, hmmm, thought common law was 7 years.

 

Depands on where you are, what area of the world I imagine.

 

Was my thinking that's the 'norm' in the States....could be wrong. (Would be the first time ever!)

 

Maybe each USA state has a different rule?
Maybe it depends on how much money, and business empire, is involved?

Bazza

 

I thought it was one year here in the states maybe i am wrong. Too bad he was never found reminds me of another Pilot that was lost and never found but that took place over the ocean and in the late 1930's lol you would think in this day and age and being lost over land you would be found.

 

ejp723, the length of time that's elapsed since Fossett’s disappearance can be more than enough for a Probate Court to presume death and begin distributing a person’s wealth, upon receipt of a petition put forward, such as that by Fossett's wife - for her husband to be declared legally dead.

Sections of the Illinois Compiled Statutes that deal in probate law, lay out numerous formal steps that petitioners must take in order to succeed. These include widely spreading the word that they’re planning to have a person declared dead, and demonstrating that they have diligently searched for the person (searches made support this).

The court then needs to consider what the evidence points to based upon evidence of the disappearance and searches made. If the amount of evidence points toward death, then the missing person is declared dead. If it points toward life, the legal waiting game continues, sometimes well beyond seven years.

The court also takes into consideration the fact that when someone is last seen in a moment of great peril, eg in a natural disaster such as flood or fire, or, as in the Fossett case, had headed into potential danger, the chance that he met an untimely end is far greater than in the case of a simple here-today, gone-tomorrow type disappearance.

These are factors that probate judges take into account when considering petitions to having missing persons declared dead in the state of Illinois. The same factors are taken into consideration in other US states, as well as here in Australia.