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Steve Fossett



Fossett tried six times over seven years for the first solo balloon circumnavigation. His fifth attempt cost him $1.25 million of his own money; his sixth and successful attempt was commercially sponsored.[21] One unsuccessful balloon flight ended when Fossett plummeted five miles into the Coral Sea off Australia.[27] Two of the attempts were launched from Busch Memorial Stadium in St. Louis, and Washington University in St. Louis served as control center for four of the six flights, including the record-breaking one.[12]

In 1998, one of the unsuccessful attempts at the ballooning record ended with a five-mile plummet into the Coral Sea off the coast of Australia that nearly killed Fossett; he waited 72 hours to be rescued, at a cost of $500,000.[12][39][40] The first attempt began in the Black Hills of South Dakota and ended in New Brunswick 1800 miles later. The second attempt, launched from Busch Stadium, cost $300,000 and lasted 9,600 miles before being downed halfway in a tree in India; the trip set records at the time for duration and distance of flight (with Fossett doubling his own previous record) and was called Solo Spirit after Lindbergh's Spirit of St. Louis.[12][9] Fossett slept an average of two hours a night for the six-day journey, conducted in below-zero temperatures. After taking too much fuel to cross the Atlantic Ocean and circling Libya for 12 hours while officials decided whether or not to allow him into their airspace, Fossett did not have enough fuel to finish the flight. That year, Fossett flew farther for less money than better-financed expeditions (including one supported by Richard Branson) in part due to his ability to fly in an un-pressurized capsule, a result of his heavy physical training at high altitudes.[9] The Solo Spirit capsule was put on display at the Smithsonian's National Air and Space Museum across from the Apollo 11.[9]

After making an unscheduled landing in a plane, Fossett once walked 30 miles for help.[11]

[

Awards and honors

In 2002, Fossett received aviation's highest award, the Gold Medal of the Fédération Aéronautique Internationale (FAI) and in July 2007, he was inducted into the Aviation Hall of Fame.[3] He was presented at the ceremony by Dick Rutan.

In 1997, Fossett was inducted into the Balloon and Airship Hall of Fame.[7] In February 2002, Fossett was named America's Rolex Yachtsman of the Year by the American Sailing Association at the New York Yacht Club.[16] He was the oldest recipient of the award in its 41-year history, and he was the only recipient to fly himself to the ceremony in his own plane.[16]

He received the Explorers Medal from the Explorers Club following his solo balloon circumnavigation. He was given the Diplôme de Montgolfier by the Fédération Aéronautique Internationale in 1996. He received the Harmon Trophy, given annually "to the world's outstanding aviator and aeronaut", in 1998 and 2002. He received the Grande Médaille de l'Aéro Club de France and the British Royal Aero Club's Gold Medal in 2002. He received the Order of Magellan and the Médaille de l'Aéronautique République Française in 2003.[7]

Fossett has also received numerous awards related to his work with the Boy Scouts of America, where he was called a "legend" among fellow scouts.[41] In 2007, Fossett succeeded Secretary of Defense Robert Gates as president of the National Eagle Scout Association. Fossett was a longtime member of the National Executive Board of the Boy Scouts of America[10] and a former member of the World Scout Committee.[7] Fossett has received both the Distinguished Eagle Scout Award and the Silver Buffalo award.[10] He was also a member of the Order of the Arrow, the Boy Scouts' honor society.[10]

The Scaled Composites White Knight Two Spirit of Steve Fossett,[42] was named in Fossett's honor by his friend Richard Branson, in 2007.[43][44]

[

Disappearance and search

It was initially believed he might be examining the many flat playa areas of Nevada.
It was initially believed he might be examining the many flat playa areas of Nevada.

At 8:45 am, on Monday, September 3, 2007, Fossett took off in a single-engine Bellanca Super Decathlon airplane from a private airstrip known as Flying-M Ranch ( 38°36′13″N, 119°00′11″W), near Smith Valley, Nevada, 30 miles south of Yerington, near Carson City and the California border. The airfield is owned by Barron Hilton[45] and is the site of the biennial Barron Hilton Cup invitational soaring encampment.

According to CNN, the search for Fossett began about six hours later. The aircraft has tail number N240R registered to the "Flying M Hunting Club, Inc." There was no signal from the plane's emergency locator transmitter (ELT) designed to be automatically activated in the event of a crash, but it was of an older type notorious for failing to operate after a crash.[46] It was at first thought that Fossett may have also been wearing a Swiss-made Breitling Emergency watch with a manually operated ELT having a range of up to 90 miles, but no signal was received from it,[47] and on September 13, 2007, Fossett's wife Peggy issued a statement clarifying that he owns such a watch, but was not wearing it when he took off for the Labor Day flight.[48]

Fossett took off with enough fuel for four to five hours of flight, according to Civil Air Patrol spokesperson Maj. Cynthia S. Ryan.[49] A Federal Aviation Administration spokesperson noted that Fossett apparently did not file a flight plan, and was not required to do so.[50][51] On the second day, teams of ten aircraft searched but found no trace of wreckage after scouring a large area of rugged terrain.[52] By the fourth day, the Civil Air Patrol was using fourteen aircraft in the search effort, including one equipped with the ARCHER system that could automatically scan detailed imaging for a given signature of the missing aircraft.[53] By September 10, 2007, search crews had found eight previously uncharted crash sites,[54][55] some of which are decades old,[56] but none related to Fossett's disappearance. Out of hundreds of tips received, authorities said they were focusing on four they considered credible.[57] About two dozen aircraft were involved in the search.[58]

On September 7, 2007, Google Inc. helped the search for the aviator through its connections to contractors that provide satellite imagery for its Google Earth software. Richard Branson, Fossett's British billionaire friend, said he and others were coordinating efforts with Google to see if any of the high-resolution pictures might include Fossett's aircraft.

On September 8, 2007, the first of a series of new high resolution imagery from DigitalGlobe was made available via the Amazon Mechanical Turk beta website so that users could flag potential areas of interest for searching,[59] in what is known as crowdsourcing. By 11 September 2007, up to 50,000 people had joined the effort scrutinizing more than 300,000 squares of the high resolution imagery. The volunteers inspected each 278-foot-square area and flagged any that they believe contained something worthy of follow up. Squares flagged by several people were given greater scrutiny. Peter Cohen of Amazon believed that the entire search area had been covered at least once by 11 September 2007. Amazon's search effort was shutdown the week of 29 October 2007 without any concrete success leaving many participants with mixed feelings.[60][61][62]

Survival experts hosted by news organizations CNN and MSNBC reported on September 12, 2007 that Fossett was likely to be dead.[63][64] On September 17, 2007, the Nevada Wing of the Civil Air Patrol reported that they were suspending all flights in connection with their search operations,[65] but National Guard and private search flights continued, as well as ground searches.[66]

The NTSB has begun a preliminary investigation into the likely crash of the plane that Fossett was flying.[67] The preliminary report originally stated that Fossett was "presumed fatally injured and the aircraft substantially damaged", but was later revised to remove that assumption.[68] Fossett's friend and fellow explorer, Sir Richard Branson has publicly made similar statements.[69]

On September 19, 2007, authorities confirmed they would stop actively looking for him in the Nevada Desert, but would keep air crews on standby to fly to possible crash sites. "Nobody is giving up on this man", said department spokesman. "The search is going to continue. It's just going to be scaled back", he said.[70] However, on September 30, 2007 it was announced that after further analysis of radar data from the day of his disappearance, ground teams and two aircraft had resumed the search.[71] On October 2, 2007, the Civil Air Patrol announced it had called off its search operation.[72]

On November 27, 2007, Fossett's wife petitioned the Cook County Circuit Court in Chicago to declare Fossett legally dead, constituting a step towards resolving the legal status of his estate.[73] On February 15, 2008, Judge Jeffrey Malak declared Fossett legally dead.[74]

[

Death

On November 26, 2007, Mrs. Fossett filed a petition in Cook County, Illinois Circuit Court to have Steve Fossett declared legally dead.[6] On January 16, 2008, a judge stated that Mrs. Fossett would have to testify in court for her motion before the judge could rule Mr. Fossett legally dead.[75] Cook County Circuit Judge Jeffrey Malak, a probate judge, declared Fossett legally dead on February 15, 2008.[1][2]

Fossett's story was detailed in the March, 2008 Chicago magazine feature, "Without A Trace."

[

Search & Rescue costs

On May 1, 2008, the Las Vegas Review-Journal ran an article citing Nevada State Governor Jim Gibbons' spokesperson Ben Kieckhefer,[76] in which it was claimed that Kieckhefer had indicated that the Governor had decided to direct the state to charge the family of the late Steve Fossett for the monetary expenses incurred whilst conducting the search for Fossett and his assumed plane wreck, at a cost of $687,000.[77] This early report was later downplayed by Kieckhefer, who told the Tahoe Daily Tribune that they did not intend to involuntarily bill Fossett's widow, but that such a payment would be voluntary, stating "We are going to request that they help offset some of these expenses, considering the scope of the search, the overall cost as well as our ongoing budget difficulties".[78] Hotelier Barron Hilton, from whose ranch Fossett had departed on the day he went missing, had previously volunteered $200,000 to help pay for the search costs, which previously totalled $687,000.[77][78] Both reports were carried by the Associated Press.

In his later comments to the Tahoe Daily Tribune, Kieckhefer denied outright that a bill for the family was being prepared, indicating, "It will probably be in the form of a letter",[78] which Kieckhefer indicated would include a financial outline of the steps taken by the state, associated costs, and a mention of the state's ongoing budget difficulties.[78]

Days prior to this announcement, state Emergency Management Director Frank Siracusa noted that there is no precedent where government will go after people for costs just because they have money to pay for it. You get lost, and we look for you. It is a service your taxpayer dollars pay for,[77] although he conceded that legally any decision would rest with the State Governor of Nevada, Jim Gibbons. At an April 10, 2008 Legislature's Interim Finance Committee hearing, Siracusa indicated that he had hired an independent auditor to review costs incurred by the state in searching for Fossett, but added, "We are doing an audit but not because we are critical of anybody or suspect something was done wrong".[79][77] Chairman Morse Arberry queried Siracusa as to why, since they lacked funds, had the state not billed the Fossett family for its search costs, to which Siracusa did not directly respond.[79][77] In his later interview with the Las Vegas Review-Journal, he stated that his comments to the Committee may have given the false impression that he had hired an auditor for the purpose of later challenging the state's financial burden incurred on it's behalf by the National Guard during the search operation.[77] Upon interview regarding reports that the state would seek payment, Chairman Morse Arberry was recorded as stating that he was glad to hear steps were being taken to try to recoup some of the costs.[78]

[

See also

[

References

  1. ^ a b c d Fox, Margalit. "Steve Fossett, Missing Adventurer, Declared Dead", New York Times, February 16, 2008. Retrieved on 2008-02-16. 
  2. ^ a b "BBC NEWS | Americas | Adventurer Fossett declared dead", BBC News, 2008-02-16. Retrieved on 2008-02-18. 
  3. ^ a b c d e f g h i Wilson, Sam; agencies. "Profile: Steve Fossett", Daily Telegraph, June 6, 2007. Retrieved on 2007-09-07. 
  4. ^ Hildebrand, Kurt. "Searchers looking for world record holder Steve Fossett", The Record-Courier, September 4, 2007. Retrieved on 2007-09-04. 
  5. ^ Rocky Mountain News: Missing aviator Steve Fossett honored at Wings Over Rockies by Tillie Fong, November 3, 2007. Retrieved 2008-2-16.
  6. ^ a b Haines, Lester. "Declare Steve Fossett dead, asks adventurer's widow", The Register, November 11, 2007. Retrieved on 2007-12-27. 
  7. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x y z Steve Fossett: Always Scouting For New Adventures. Airport Journal. Retrieved on 2007-09-05.
  8. ^ "Search continues for aviation adventurer Steve Fossett", CNN, September 4, 2007. Retrieved on 2007-09-06. 
  9. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o Pioneer In the Sky. Stanford Magazine. Retrieved on 2007-09-07.
  10. ^ a b c d "EAGLE SCOUT AND BSA EXECUTIVE BOARD MEMBER SETS WORLD RECORD", Boy Scouts of America, July 3, 2002. Retrieved on 2007-09-12. 
  11. ^ a b c d e Branson fears missing Fossett is injured. CNN. Retrieved on 2007-09-07.
  12. ^ a b c d e f g Smith, Bill; Deere, Stephen. "Steve Fossett's plane is missing", St. Louis Post-Dispatch, September 5, 2007. Retrieved on 2007-09-07. 
  13. ^ a b Halvorson, Todd. "Aviator Fossett tries to break distance record", 'Florida Today', USA Today, September 4, 2007. Retrieved on 2006-02-05. 
  14. ^ a b c d Rescuers to Resume Search for Plane Carrying Aviation Adventurer Steve Fossett. Fox News. Retrieved on 2007-09-07.
  15. ^ a b Mihelich, Peggy. "Adventure defines Steve Fossett", CNN, September 4, 2007. Retrieved on 2007-09-07. 
  16. ^ a b c d e Rich Roberts Reports. yachtracing.com. Retrieved on 2007-09-07.
  17. ^ Fiorino, Frances. "Advanced Recon System Aids Fossett Search", Aviation Week, September 6, 2007. Retrieved on 2007-09-06. 
  18. ^ "Fossett Sets Another World Record" (Fall 2006). 'Eagletter' Vol:32 (No:2): pp: 11. 
  19. ^ List of records established by 'Steve FOSSETT (USA)':. History of Aviation and Space World Records. Fédération Aéronautique Internationale. Retrieved on 2006-10-26.
  20. ^ a b c Some of Fossett's Accomplishments. Associated Press. Retrieved on 2007-09-05.
  21. ^ a b c d U.S. Balloonist Sets Record in Circling Globe. Reuters. Retrieved on 2007-09-05.
  22. ^ NOAA helps guide balloonist around the world. NOAA. Retrieved on 2007-09-05.
  23. ^ Fossett sets record for longest nonstop flight February 11, 2006
  24. ^ "Fossett sets solo flight record" - BBC News article dated March 3, 2005
  25. ^ "Fossett makes history" - CNN.com article dated March 4, 2005
  26. ^ Current Absolute General Aviation World Records
  27. ^ a b Adventurer Steve Fossett No Stranger to Tall Odds. NPR. Retrieved on 2007-09-07.
  28. ^ Gliding World Records: Sub-class DO (Open Class Gliders) Free Distance:. History of Aviation and Space World Records. Fédération Aéronautique Internationale. Retrieved on 2007-11-16.
  29. ^ Gliding World Records: Sub-class DO (Open Class Gliders) Distance over a triangular course:. History of Aviation and Space World Records. Fédération Aéronautique Internationale. Retrieved on 2007-11-16.
  30. ^ Gliding World Records: Sub-class DO (Open Class Gliders) Free out-and-return distance:. History of Aviation and Space World Records. Fédération Aéronautique Internationale. Retrieved on 2007-11-16.
  31. ^ Gliding World Records: Sub-class DO (Open Class Gliders) Speed over a triangular course of 1500 km:. History of Aviation and Space World Records. Fédération Aéronautique Internationale. Retrieved on 2007-11-16.
  32. ^ Gliding World Records: Sub-class DO (Open Class Gliders) Speed over a triangular course of 1250 km:. History of Aviation and Space World Records. Fédération Aéronautique Internationale. Retrieved on 2007-11-16.
  33. ^ Gliding World Records: Sub-class DO (Open Class Gliders) Speed over a triangular course of 750 km:. History of Aviation and Space World Records. Fédération Aéronautique Internationale. Retrieved on 2007-11-16.
  34. ^ Gliding World Records: Sub-class DO (Open Class Gliders) Speed over a triangular course of 500 km:. History of Aviation and Space World Records. Fédération Aéronautique Internationale. Retrieved on 2007-11-16.
  35. ^ Gliding World Records: Sub-class DO (Open Class Gliders) Speed over an out-and-return course of 1000 km:. History of Aviation and Space World Records. Fédération Aéronautique Internationale. Retrieved on 2007-11-16.
  36. ^ Gliding World Records: Sub-class DO (Open Class Gliders) Speed over an out-and-return course of 1500 km:. History of Aviation and Space World Records. Fédération Aéronautique Internationale. Retrieved on 2007-11-16.
  37. ^ Gliding World Records: Sub-class DO (Open Class Gliders) Absolute altitude:. History of Aviation and Space World Records. Fédération Aéronautique Internationale. Retrieved on 2007-11-16.
  38. ^ 1996 Ironman Triathlon World Championship. Retrieved on 2007-09-07.
  39. ^ What did Steve Fossett do for us?. Knight-Ridder. Retrieved on 2007-09-08.
  40. ^ Steve Fossett Breaks Ballooning World Record. CBS News. Retrieved on 2007-09-08.
  41. ^ Beadle, Nicholas. "Missing adventurer Steve Fossett has tenuous ties to area", Jackson Sun, September 12, 2007. Retrieved on 2007-09-12. 
  42. ^ Branson, Richard (2007-10-10). My Friend, Steve Fossett. Time. Retrieved on 2007-12-20.
  43. ^ Nizza, Mike (2007-10-11). The Legend of Steve Fossett Takes Root. New York Times. Retrieved on 2007-12-20.
  44. ^ Burack, Ari (10 October 2007). Sir Richard Branson.... San Francisco Sentinel. Retrieved on 2008-02-28.
  45. ^ Friess, Steve (2007-09-04). Millionaire Aviator Missing on Short Flight - New York Times. The New York Times. Retrieved on 2007-09-04. “Mr. Fossett, 63, took off from a ranch owned by the hotel magnate William Barron Hilton at about 9 a.m. but was expected back by noon to leave the ranch with his wife on a private jet, said Major Cynthia S. Ryan, public information officer of the Civil Air Patrol Nevada Wing.”
  46. ^ Levin, Alan (2007-09-06). Fossett search stresses need for new beacons. USA Today. Gannett. Retrieved on 2007-09-08. “The small plane piloted by Fossett, 63, was equipped with an older emergency beacon that is notorious for failing to operate after crashes, according to federal safety officials and the agencies that monitor the emergency beacons.”
  47. ^ Geis, Sonya (2007-09-06). Rescue Crews Find No Sign Of Missing Adventurer. Washington Post. Retrieved on 2007-09-08. “In a telephone interview, [Fossett's friend Granger] Whitelaw said Fossett always wears a Swiss-made Breitling watch with the same type of electronic location transmitter that commercial jets use to alert rescuers when they crash.”
  48. ^ Search for Fossett could solve decades-old mysteries. CNN (2007-09-13). Retrieved on 2007-09-13. “Fossett's wife, Peggy, issued a statement Thursday in response to questions about whether her husband was wearing a watch with an emergency transmitter on his flight. She said he owned such a Breitling watch but did not bring it on the trip.”
  49. ^ "Aviation record-holder Steve Fossett missing", CNN, September 4, 2007. Retrieved on 2007-09-04. 
  50. ^ Sonner, Scott. "FAA: Adventurer Fossett's Plane Missing", AP, September 4, 2007. Retrieved on 2007-09-04. 
  51. ^ Steve Fossett reported missing by US aviation authorities (September 4, 2007).
  52. ^ Kansascity.com, Adventurer’s routine flight disappears into a mystery
  53. ^ Fiorino, Frances (2007-09). Advanced Recon System Aids Fossett Search. Aviation Week. McGraw-Hill. Retrieved on 2007-09-08. “According to CAP, a set of parameters describing the intended target, including its color and shape, is programmed into the ARCHER system.”
  54. ^ Friess, Steve (2007-09-10). Search for Fossett turns up wrecks of 8 other small planes. San Francisco Chronicle p. A-1. Hearst Communications Inc.. Retrieved on 2007-09-10. “The search for Fossett across a 17,000-square-mile swath of the Sierra Nevada has revealed the wreckage of eight other small planes...”
  55. ^ Associated Press (2007-09-10). Searchers frustrated over Fossett search. USA Today. Retrieved on 2007-09-14. “...search parties have spotted wreckage of eight other airplanes that had been lost for years in and around the rugged mountains of western Nevada.”
  56. ^ Riley, Brendan (2007-09-08). Vast, desolate area hinders Fossett search. Monterey Herald. Retrieved on 2007-09-10. “...another downed plane Friday that was spotted on a hillside about 45 miles southeast of Reno...turned out to be an old crash, a plane last registered in Oregon in 1975”
  57. ^ Gerdner, Tom (2007-09-08). Aviator's Fate Puzzles Search Crews. Associated Press. Retrieved on 2007-09-08. “In their quest to find missing aviator Steve Fossett, searchers have come across eight uncharted plane crash wreckage sites. But none of the wrecks shed light on what may have happened to the multimillionaire.”
  58. ^ http://www.cnn.com/2007/US/09/08/fossett.ap/index.html
  59. ^ Amazon Mechanical Turk - All HITs
  60. ^ Amazon Mechanical Turk, Steve Fossett Missing: Help find him by searching satellite imagery project
  61. ^ 50,000 Volunteers Join Distributed Search For Steve Fossett, Wired News, By Steve Friess, 11 September 2007, 2:00 p.m.
  62. ^ Online Fossett Searchers Ask, Was It Worth It?, Wired.com, Steve Friess, 11/6/2007 5:00 PM
  63. ^ http://edition.cnn.com/2007/US/09/12/fossett.search.ap/index.html
  64. ^ "Steve Fossett likely dead, survival experts say", http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/20732023/
  65. ^ Check-Six.com - Missing - Steve Fossett
  66. ^ Search for aviator scaled back - CNN.com
  67. ^ NTSB Preliminary Report - SEA07FAMS2 - on the loss of N240R
  68. ^ Howard, Scott and Stewart Campbell (2007-09-20). Federal Agency Retracts Fossett Statement After KOLO 8 Probe. KOLO-TV News. Retrieved on 2007-09-21. “...the National Transportation Safety Board's officials preliminary report noted that Fossett was "presumed fatally injured and the aircraft substantially damaged."”
  69. ^ http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20071015/ap_on_re_us/steve_fossett
  70. ^ Search For Missing Adventurer Wound Down |Sky News|World News
  71. ^ [1][dead link]
  72. ^ CNN (2007-10-03). Search called off for adventurous aviator Steve Fossett. CNN News. Retrieved on 2007-10-03. “The Civil Air Patrol has called off the search for multimillionaire adventurer Steve Fossett, nearly a month after he took off from a Nevada ranch, the agency announced Tuesday.”
  73. ^ Declare Steve dead, says Fossett's wife - SBS World News Australia
  74. ^ Adventurer Fossett declared dead.
  75. ^ Robinson, Mike. "Missing adventurer's wife must testify", The News-Times, January 16, 2008. Retrieved on 2008-01-17. 
  76. ^ Office of the Governor, Nevada State (2008-03-12). "GOVERNOR APPOINTS BEN KIECKHEFER PRESS SECRETARY". Press release. Retrieved on [[2008-05-01]].
  77. ^ a b c d e f Vogel, Ed. "MISSING ADVENTURER: Gibbons to bill Fossett widow", Las Vegas Review-Journal, 2008-05-01. "Government's cost to hunt for multimillionaire was $687,000" 
  78. ^ a b c d e Chereb, Sandra. "Nevada governor to ask Fossett widow for search money", Associated Press Writer, Tahoe Daily Tribune, 2008-05-01. "Kieckhefer said any assistance from the Fossett family would be voluntary." 
  79. ^ a b Agendas and Minutes. Interim Finance Committee (NRS 218.6825). Nevada Legislature (2008-04-10).

[

Further reading

  • Chasing the Wind: The Autobiography of Steve Fossett, 2006

[

External links

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