Van's Air Force
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Steve Fossett Update?
- Thread starter Flyguytki
- Start date
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Neal@F14
Well Known Member
The search did turn up a half dozen or more other uncharted aircraft crash sites, at least one of which had been out there for nearly half a century. That shows just how difficult locating a wrecked aircraft in that kind of terrain can be and how desolate and unexplored that region really is. You can fly right over a wreckage site at less than 500 AGL, stare straight at the wreckage, and not recognize it as such.
When a good friend of mine bought the farm in his KR2-S less than a mile from the approach end of the runway, I flew right over the crash site and did not even notice the wreckage from the air. His plane had shattered into a bazillion pieces that scattered out to look like random debris from the air. I had not yet learned that he had crashed less than 30 minutes earlier and my attention was on landing my own plane. From walking up to the site on the ground, you could definitely tell it it had once been a plane.
When a good friend of mine bought the farm in his KR2-S less than a mile from the approach end of the runway, I flew right over the crash site and did not even notice the wreckage from the air. His plane had shattered into a bazillion pieces that scattered out to look like random debris from the air. I had not yet learned that he had crashed less than 30 minutes earlier and my attention was on landing my own plane. From walking up to the site on the ground, you could definitely tell it it had once been a plane.
Flyguytki
Well Known Member
Hey Neal, Sorry to hear about that, but that is unbelievable, what makes the search so difficult, I understand it is the terrain but what type of terrain features are we talking, I understand the Nevada area is much like a desert but I would think that would make a search fairly easy however I'm obviously wrong.
david
david
N941WR
Legacy Member
David,
I have backpacked that area before and the terrain is aired, not desert.
When I think of desert, I think of flat sand, which is not this place. There are hills, canyons, rocks, scrub, etc. Lots of shadows and places to hid things as big as an airplane.
It is possible he is up against the side of cliff wall and the only way to see the wreckage is to view it from the same angle Steve Fosset did just before he crashed.
You need to spend a week walking around a place like this to really appreciate it.
Once you get north of Las Vegas, the terrain in Nevada becomes incredibly complex and multi-layered. Do a Google search on "basin and range". Much of Nevada is dominated by narrow mountain ranges that rise up quite suddenly, often to heights of greater than 10,000 feet (beware, pilots of underpowered aircraft). While the valleys between them (the basins) are dry, dusty and mostly covered with scrub in those places where things grow at all, the ranges have snow during much of the winter, and their canyons often contain streams that flow year round only to terminate in dust. Flying across those ranges in the fall reveals spectacular displays of golden leaves, visible only to the intrepid pilot or the adventurer willing to drive a long ways through nowhere. There are even (giving away one of my secrets here) native populations of fish in some of those streams, if you know where to look. I've overflown the area around the airfield from which Steve Fossett departed many times. It is starkly beautiful, but you wouldn't want to go down there. Even if you walked from the wreckage, it would be a grueling journey to find another human.
n5lp
fugio ergo sum
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Nice photos, Larry, thanks. I wish I'd taken pics on the trips I made, but digital cameras were more of a novelty then and in the days of film I tended not to carry cameras. My lovely wife is the talented one with a shutter, but she was never along on those flights.
I can tell you that I have stood in the Upper Lehman campground in Great Basin National Park a couple of years ago and made a cell call. I was astonished. On the other hand, standing on the side of a mountain near the campground in Berlin-Ichthyosaur State Park one night, I could not only not get a cell signal but I couldn't see a single man-made light, despite the commanding view of a very large valley. It defines "remote" out there.
I can tell you that I have stood in the Upper Lehman campground in Great Basin National Park a couple of years ago and made a cell call. I was astonished. On the other hand, standing on the side of a mountain near the campground in Berlin-Ichthyosaur State Park one night, I could not only not get a cell signal but I couldn't see a single man-made light, despite the commanding view of a very large valley. It defines "remote" out there.
John Clark
Well Known Member
Graphic Photo
The new issue of FAA Aviation News has an article about training accident investigators. The lead photograph shows what Steve Fossett's airplane might look like. Very difficult to see from the air.
http://www.faa.gov/news/aviation_news/2008/media/JanFeb2008.pdf
John Clark
RV8 N18U "Sunshine"
KSBA
The new issue of FAA Aviation News has an article about training accident investigators. The lead photograph shows what Steve Fossett's airplane might look like. Very difficult to see from the air.
http://www.faa.gov/news/aviation_news/2008/media/JanFeb2008.pdf
John Clark
RV8 N18U "Sunshine"
KSBA
Ron Lee
Well Known Member
406 MHz PLB vs Spot
Here is my concern with my 406 MHz unit. Let's say that I activate it 10 years after I bought it. Since it will hardly have current orbital info on the satellites, it may take a while to acquire them before sending out a distress signal with GPS coordinates.
The Spot can be used to transmit your accurate position as often as you wish.
I intend to test the 406 MHz time to acquire and transmit a good position when it is time to replace the battery. I will call the organization responsible to coordinate the test.
Here is my concern with my 406 MHz unit. Let's say that I activate it 10 years after I bought it. Since it will hardly have current orbital info on the satellites, it may take a while to acquire them before sending out a distress signal with GPS coordinates.
The Spot can be used to transmit your accurate position as often as you wish.
I intend to test the 406 MHz time to acquire and transmit a good position when it is time to replace the battery. I will call the organization responsible to coordinate the test.
n5lp
fugio ergo sum
I don't know what unit you have. With my ACR there are several tests you can do without notifying anyone. The text below is from the manual.
"The AeroFixTM 406 GPS P-ELT is fitted with an internal Global Positioning System (GPS) receiver that will determine the latitude and longitude of its position. To test the internal GPS you must be outdoors and have a clear view of the sky. The P-ELT must remain under observation in order to
witness the results of the test. In order to best view the results, avoid bright sunlight and noisy locations. Depress and hold the GPS I/O button until one Red LED flash, beep and one Green LED flash, beep are observed. (about 5 seconds apart) Then release the GPS I/O button. The live test of
the internal GPS has begun. The GPS will remain ON until LAT/LON position coordinates have been obtained or until 10 minutes has elapsed. If valid navigation data has been obtained, the GPS will be turned OFF and the green LED will light for at least 3 seconds. This LAT/LON data is not
saved for use when the P-ELT is turned ON. The green LED is proof that the GPS is functioning properly and that the P-ELT is in a location or environment where it can receive the necessary signals from satellites. If the GPS does not acquire good navigation data, the GPS will turn OFF after 10 minutes and there will be no successful green LED indication. This test should not be performed more than once during the five-year life of the battery pack to prevent excessive battery drain. "
Because of the caution about battery drain, I have not done this. If people are interested I will do it once and time the acquisition period.
n5lp
fugio ergo sum
Ok, maybe no one else is interested but I thought you brought up a very valid concern Ron, so I checked it for my own amusement.
My ACR Aerofix is about 3 years old and has never been on in any way. I took it out to the front yard and set it on the mailbox. This is a very good but not perfect location, with moderate sized houses very close together and some trees. I placed it GPS antenna up and did the test.
It took 2 minutes 41 seconds to get a GPS position. I don't know how they can do it but there must be some very clever engineers out there.
N941WR
Legacy Member
Court declares Steve Fossett dead: reports
Court declares Steve Fossett dead: reports
CHICAGO (Reuters) - Missing millionaire adventurer Steve Fossett was declared legally dead on Friday by a Chicago court five months after the airplane he was flying disappeared over Nevada, media reported.
His wife, Peggy Fossett, had asked Cook County Circuit Court in Chicago to make the declaration in November. Her petition for a judicial finding of his death said investigators had concluded that Fossett's airplane was destroyed in a fatal accident.
"I believe the evidence is more than sufficient," Judge Jeffrey Malak of the circuit court said in ruling declaring Fossett was dead, the Chicago Tribune reported on its Web site.
Citing court records it said his estate was "vast" and worth more than eight figures -- or multiple millions of dollars.
Fossett, a 63-year-old holder of several aviation and sailing records, vanished with his airplane after taking off from a private airstrip in western Nevada, one of the most remote and uninhabited regions of the continental United States, on September 3. An exhaustive search failed to find any wreckage.
British entrepreneur Richard Branson, who teamed with Fossett on some ventures and underwrote his successful global plane flight, said in September Fossett was scouting dry lake beds as locations for a future attempt to set a world land speed record.
Fossett, who earned his fortune as a financial trader, in 2002 became the first person to fly a balloon solo around the world and in 2005 achieved the first solo nonstop flight around the world in the Virgin Atlantic GlobalFlyer aircraft.
Last year Fossett flew solo in the GlobalFlyer to set the absolute nonstop distance record for any aircraft and set a new glider world altitude record with co-pilot Einar Enevoldson.
Fossett also competed in endurance competitions, swam the English Channel and set numerous world records in sailing.
(Writing by Michael Conlon, editing by Jackie Frank)
Court declares Steve Fossett dead: reports
CHICAGO (Reuters) - Missing millionaire adventurer Steve Fossett was declared legally dead on Friday by a Chicago court five months after the airplane he was flying disappeared over Nevada, media reported.
His wife, Peggy Fossett, had asked Cook County Circuit Court in Chicago to make the declaration in November. Her petition for a judicial finding of his death said investigators had concluded that Fossett's airplane was destroyed in a fatal accident.
"I believe the evidence is more than sufficient," Judge Jeffrey Malak of the circuit court said in ruling declaring Fossett was dead, the Chicago Tribune reported on its Web site.
Citing court records it said his estate was "vast" and worth more than eight figures -- or multiple millions of dollars.
Fossett, a 63-year-old holder of several aviation and sailing records, vanished with his airplane after taking off from a private airstrip in western Nevada, one of the most remote and uninhabited regions of the continental United States, on September 3. An exhaustive search failed to find any wreckage.
British entrepreneur Richard Branson, who teamed with Fossett on some ventures and underwrote his successful global plane flight, said in September Fossett was scouting dry lake beds as locations for a future attempt to set a world land speed record.
Fossett, who earned his fortune as a financial trader, in 2002 became the first person to fly a balloon solo around the world and in 2005 achieved the first solo nonstop flight around the world in the Virgin Atlantic GlobalFlyer aircraft.
Last year Fossett flew solo in the GlobalFlyer to set the absolute nonstop distance record for any aircraft and set a new glider world altitude record with co-pilot Einar Enevoldson.
Fossett also competed in endurance competitions, swam the English Channel and set numerous world records in sailing.
(Writing by Michael Conlon, editing by Jackie Frank)
RV10Hopeful
Member
Getting Close?
Pilot's license found in Calif. may be Fossett's
By JULIANA BARBASSA (Associated Press Writer)
From Associated Press
October 01, 2008 4:12 PM EDT
SAN FRANCISCO - A hiker in a rugged part of eastern California found a pilot's license and other items possibly belonging to Steve Fossett, the adventurer who vanished on a solo flight in a borrowed plane more than a year ago, authorities said Wednesday.
The hiker, Preston Morrow, said he found a Federal Aviation Administration identity card, a pilot's license, a third ID and $1,005 in cash tangled in a bush off a trail just west of the town of Mammoth Lakes on Monday. He said he turned the items in to local police Wednesday, after unsuccessful attempts to contact Fossett's family.
Mammoth Lakes police Investigator Crystal Schafer confirmed that the department had the items, including the ones bearing Fossett's name.
Search teams led by the Madera County Sheriff's Department have been dispatched to the scene, and an air and ground effort was expected to be under way by afternoon, said sheriff's spokeswoman Erica Stewart.
Morrow said he found no sign of a plane or any human remains.
Fossett, whose exploits included circumnavigating the globe in a balloon, disappeared Sept. 3, 2007, after taking off in a single-engine plane borrowed from a Nevada ranch owned by hotel magnate Barron Hilton. A judge declared Fossett legally dead in February following a search for the famed aviator that covered 20,000 square miles.
Michael LoVallo, a lawyer for Fossett's widow, Peggy, said, "We are aware of the reports and are trying to verify the information."
Aviators had flown over Mammoth Lakes in the search for Fossett, but it had not been considered a likely place to find the plane. The most intense searching was concentrated to the north, given what searchers knew about sightings of Fossett's plane, his plans for when he had intended to return and the amount of fuel he had in the plane.
Morrow, 43, who works in a Mammoth Lakes sporting goods store, said he initially didn't know who Fossett was. It wasn't until he showed the items to co-workers Tuesday that one of them recognized Fossett's name.
"It was just weird to find that much money in the backcountry, and the IDs," he said. "My immediate thought was it was a hiker or backpacker's stuff, and a bear got to the stuff and took it away to look for food or whatever."
Morrow said he returned to the scene with a friend Tuesday to search further and did not find any airplane wreckage or human remains. They did find a black Nautica pullover fleece, size XL, in the same area, but he said he wasn't sure if the items were related.
Morrow said he consulted local attorney David Baumwohl, and they initially tried to contact the Fossett family but were unable to get through to their lawyers.
"We figured if it was us, we'd want to know first. We wouldn't want to learn from the news," Baumwohl said.
Baumwohl and Morrow tried to contact the law firm that handled the death declaration. When they weren't successful, they decided to turn everything over to the police, the attorney said.
Mammoth Lakes is at an elevation of more than 7,800 feet on the eastern flank of the Sierra Nevada, where peaks top 13,000 feet. This year's biggest search for Fossett focused on Nevada's Wassuk Range, more than 50 miles north of Mammoth Lakes. That search ended last month.
One of Fossett's friends reacted to Wednesday's news with cautious optimism.
If the belongings turn out to be authentic, then that could help narrow the search area for possible wreckage, said Ray Arvidson, a scientist at Washington University who worked on Fossett's past balloon flights.
"It would be nice to get closure," Arvidson said.
Fossett made a fortune trading futures and options on Chicago markets. He gained worldwide fame for more than 100 attempts and successes in setting records in high-tech balloons, gliders, jets and boats. In 2002, he became the first person to circle the world solo in a balloon. He was inducted into the National Aviation Hall of Fame in July 2007.
Pilot's license found in Calif. may be Fossett's
By JULIANA BARBASSA (Associated Press Writer)
From Associated Press
October 01, 2008 4:12 PM EDT
SAN FRANCISCO - A hiker in a rugged part of eastern California found a pilot's license and other items possibly belonging to Steve Fossett, the adventurer who vanished on a solo flight in a borrowed plane more than a year ago, authorities said Wednesday.
The hiker, Preston Morrow, said he found a Federal Aviation Administration identity card, a pilot's license, a third ID and $1,005 in cash tangled in a bush off a trail just west of the town of Mammoth Lakes on Monday. He said he turned the items in to local police Wednesday, after unsuccessful attempts to contact Fossett's family.
Mammoth Lakes police Investigator Crystal Schafer confirmed that the department had the items, including the ones bearing Fossett's name.
Search teams led by the Madera County Sheriff's Department have been dispatched to the scene, and an air and ground effort was expected to be under way by afternoon, said sheriff's spokeswoman Erica Stewart.
Morrow said he found no sign of a plane or any human remains.
Fossett, whose exploits included circumnavigating the globe in a balloon, disappeared Sept. 3, 2007, after taking off in a single-engine plane borrowed from a Nevada ranch owned by hotel magnate Barron Hilton. A judge declared Fossett legally dead in February following a search for the famed aviator that covered 20,000 square miles.
Michael LoVallo, a lawyer for Fossett's widow, Peggy, said, "We are aware of the reports and are trying to verify the information."
Aviators had flown over Mammoth Lakes in the search for Fossett, but it had not been considered a likely place to find the plane. The most intense searching was concentrated to the north, given what searchers knew about sightings of Fossett's plane, his plans for when he had intended to return and the amount of fuel he had in the plane.
Morrow, 43, who works in a Mammoth Lakes sporting goods store, said he initially didn't know who Fossett was. It wasn't until he showed the items to co-workers Tuesday that one of them recognized Fossett's name.
"It was just weird to find that much money in the backcountry, and the IDs," he said. "My immediate thought was it was a hiker or backpacker's stuff, and a bear got to the stuff and took it away to look for food or whatever."
Morrow said he returned to the scene with a friend Tuesday to search further and did not find any airplane wreckage or human remains. They did find a black Nautica pullover fleece, size XL, in the same area, but he said he wasn't sure if the items were related.
Morrow said he consulted local attorney David Baumwohl, and they initially tried to contact the Fossett family but were unable to get through to their lawyers.
"We figured if it was us, we'd want to know first. We wouldn't want to learn from the news," Baumwohl said.
Baumwohl and Morrow tried to contact the law firm that handled the death declaration. When they weren't successful, they decided to turn everything over to the police, the attorney said.
Mammoth Lakes is at an elevation of more than 7,800 feet on the eastern flank of the Sierra Nevada, where peaks top 13,000 feet. This year's biggest search for Fossett focused on Nevada's Wassuk Range, more than 50 miles north of Mammoth Lakes. That search ended last month.
One of Fossett's friends reacted to Wednesday's news with cautious optimism.
If the belongings turn out to be authentic, then that could help narrow the search area for possible wreckage, said Ray Arvidson, a scientist at Washington University who worked on Fossett's past balloon flights.
"It would be nice to get closure," Arvidson said.
Fossett made a fortune trading futures and options on Chicago markets. He gained worldwide fame for more than 100 attempts and successes in setting records in high-tech balloons, gliders, jets and boats. In 2002, he became the first person to circle the world solo in a balloon. He was inducted into the National Aviation Hall of Fame in July 2007.
Geico266
Well Known Member
Looks like they may have spotted the wreckage from the air.
http://www.cnn.com/2008/US/10/02/steve.fossett.search/?iref=hpmostpop
NTSB Quote; "The NTSB said the small airplane found on Wednesday " appears to be the aircraft piloted by Steve Fossett." They would not say of they found a body at the scene.
http://www.cnn.com/2008/US/10/02/steve.fossett.search/?iref=hpmostpop
NTSB Quote; "The NTSB said the small airplane found on Wednesday " appears to be the aircraft piloted by Steve Fossett." They would not say of they found a body at the scene.
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N941WR
Legacy Member
From AVWeb
Where are the conspiracy theorists when you need them?AVWeb said:Wreckage Confirmed As Fossett's Decathlon
By Russ Niles, Editor-in-Chief
Authorities have confirmed that wreckage found in the Mammoth Lakes area of northeastern California is that of the Super Decathlon Steve Fossett was reported missing in just over a year ago. However, early reports of the circumstances of the crash may raise more questions than they answer about the end of a flight that sparked the largest air and ground search in recent memory. "It was a head-on crash into the side of a mountain, into a rock," Madera County Sheriff John Anderson told a news conference, according to the San Francisco Chronicle. "The plane disintegrated. We found the engine 300 feet from the fuselage." No body has been found. When Fossett took off from Barron Hilton's Minden, Nevada-area ranch, the weather was clear and Fossett was reportedly going on a local flight to check out dry lake beds for a planned land speed record bid.
Mammoth Lakes is a mountainous area east of Yosemite National Park. Anderson said the wreckage was found at about the 10,000-foot level and was about a quarter mile from where a hiker found Fossett's pilot certificates and clothing two days earlier.
gmcjetpilot
Well Known Member
Darn I was late, here's another link
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20081002/ap_on_re_us/fossett_search
The insurance company and people where balking at his missing, not found, because of some apparent financial issues? I don't have details, but recall reading some thing. Also I understand it is standard for insurance companies to resist payout when there is a big policy and some odd or questionable scenario, like Heath Leger's life insurance is being protested by the underwriter for non disclosure of drug use.
I'm glad they at least found the wreckage; hope they find the remains for the family. As the article said it is not uncommon not to find the body. RIP Steve
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20081002/ap_on_re_us/fossett_search
The insurance company and people where balking at his missing, not found, because of some apparent financial issues? I don't have details, but recall reading some thing. Also I understand it is standard for insurance companies to resist payout when there is a big policy and some odd or questionable scenario, like Heath Leger's life insurance is being protested by the underwriter for non disclosure of drug use.
I'm glad they at least found the wreckage; hope they find the remains for the family. As the article said it is not uncommon not to find the body. RIP Steve
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N941WR
Legacy Member
News report
Here is some video news report:
http://cosmos.bcst.yahoo.com/up/player/popup/?rn=3906861&cl=10003056&ch=4226713&src=news
Here is some video news report:
http://cosmos.bcst.yahoo.com/up/player/popup/?rn=3906861&cl=10003056&ch=4226713&src=news
Andrew Sego
Active Member
That's generally true, if the situation is unusual. Life insurance policies have a "contestability period", usually around 2 years but dependent on state law, which states that if you provided false information on the application they can deny your claim and refund the premiums. If Ledger was a drug user and did not admit it on his application the company has every right to withhold payment.
I'm not familiar with Fossett's financial situation, but anytime someone disappears there's going to be an investigation. It's happened before that someone turns up years after the life insurance has been paid. I don't subscribe to the conspiracy theories, but that doesn't mean that that sort of thing doesn't ever happen.
Geico266
Well Known Member
Pretty strange to have a full cruise speed impact into a mountain during VFR conditions. I wonder if it had an auto pilot in it?
az_gila
Well Known Member
Nah....
One report had thunderstorms/storms in the area when he was flying.
Flying too close to the mountain in good thermal conditions could easily deflect him into the side of the rocks.
He was a glider pilot - they found his SSA membership card on the mountain - so it's possible he might have tried soaring or ridge flying in the Decathalon.
That area can have really good thermals, I had to stop thermalling at 18,000 ft once over Lake Crowley (right next to Mammoth) to stay VFR legal... less legal glider pilots have thermalled up to 21,000 - 22,000 ft there.
RIP Steve....
Pretty strange to have a full cruise speed impact into a mountain during VFR conditions. I wonder if it had an auto pilot in it?
One report had thunderstorms/storms in the area when he was flying.
Flying too close to the mountain in good thermal conditions could easily deflect him into the side of the rocks.
He was a glider pilot - they found his SSA membership card on the mountain - so it's possible he might have tried soaring or ridge flying in the Decathalon.
That area can have really good thermals, I had to stop thermalling at 18,000 ft once over Lake Crowley (right next to Mammoth) to stay VFR legal... less legal glider pilots have thermalled up to 21,000 - 22,000 ft there.
RIP Steve....
ArVeeNiner
Well Known Member
Google Earth location of the crash site
This guy seems to have narrowed it down pretty well. Pretty rough terrain but it's amazing how close it is to the town of Mammoth Lakes. Using Google Earth it looks to be less than 10 miles from the center of town.
http://blog.wired.com/wiredscience/2008/10/google-earth.html
This guy seems to have narrowed it down pretty well. Pretty rough terrain but it's amazing how close it is to the town of Mammoth Lakes. Using Google Earth it looks to be less than 10 miles from the center of town.
http://blog.wired.com/wiredscience/2008/10/google-earth.html
lightning
Well Known Member
that's exactly what i was thinkin.... i'm sure they'll come out and say whether they found any traces or not
az_gila
Well Known Member
Remains probably found...
An update from AP News...
http://ap.google.com/article/ALeqM5gfmXbQn-RFLHSjd8_s23ytiM6OVAD93IL48O1
RIP Steve
An update from AP News...
http://ap.google.com/article/ALeqM5gfmXbQn-RFLHSjd8_s23ytiM6OVAD93IL48O1
RIP Steve
Steve had many extraordinary accomplishments and adventures obviously living life to the edge and enjoying doing it with all his amazing records.
Most of us will never do 1/10th of what he did.
Rest in peace my fellow aviator. We'll miss your next record.
If we can learn anything from this tragedy- File a flight plan when flying in terrain like this and where there are uppers, there can be downers. It was sad to see two super experienced CAP mountain check pilots killed 3 days after an interview by a Canadian team doing a story on Steve's disappearance. Apparently they could not outclimb terrain in the conditions they were in.
The mountains have taken many very experienced pilots- be careful.
Most of us will never do 1/10th of what he did.
Rest in peace my fellow aviator. We'll miss your next record.
If we can learn anything from this tragedy- File a flight plan when flying in terrain like this and where there are uppers, there can be downers. It was sad to see two super experienced CAP mountain check pilots killed 3 days after an interview by a Canadian team doing a story on Steve's disappearance. Apparently they could not outclimb terrain in the conditions they were in.
The mountains have taken many very experienced pilots- be careful.
Greg Arehart
Well Known Member
Local news is reporting that there are "sufficient remains to do DNA testing" which suggests to me that there really is not much left (lots of wildlife scavengers in the area, so not surprising that there isn't much left after a year). Local weather folks went back through the archives and there were no major weather events in the region (which is how I remember it as well), but around the mountains there can be a lot of local nasties.
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2008/10/02/BAEU13A99B.DTL
greg
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2008/10/02/BAEU13A99B.DTL
greg
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Geico266
Well Known Member
I was hoping he bailed out and was living a quiet life on a beach somewhere. Evidently, that is not to be.
RIP Steve Fossit, you have earned it.
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L.Adamson
Well Known Member
If we can learn anything from this tragedy- File a flight plan when flying in terrain like this and where there are uppers, there can be downers. It was sad to see two super experienced CAP mountain check pilots killed 3 days after an interview by a Canadian team doing a story on Steve's disappearance. Apparently they could not outclimb terrain in the conditions they were in.
The mountains have taken many very experienced pilots- be careful.
With todays technology, I think we're actually better off with APRS or SPOT than filing a flight plan. Often, you'll be below radar coverage in mountain areas.
And the problem I have, is that I don't want to be subjected to a totally planned route with time limitations anymore. With SPOT, I feel that I get the safety aspect that flight plans were good for.
And I'm happy that most RV's have a good climb rate, as density altitude and less capable aircraft have bugged me for years. Where I live, it's mountains just about everywhere. My home airport is 4603'.
BTW, a Decathalon (or Citabria) that had resided in the hangar behind mine, bit the dust a few weeks ago, as it couldn't outclimb the mountain canyon in an apparent downdraft. The plane is wiped out, but both occupants got out okay.
L.Adamson --- RV6A
Yes, technologies like SPOT could be a huge step forward in safety in the event of a crash in sparsely settled areas. Use all available aids at your disposal.
While RVs climb well, I can relate a couple of stories from friend's where the descent rates right down to the trees have exceeded 1000 fpm at full power at best climb speed. I wouldn't count on being able to outclimb all downers in the rocks even in an RV.
Pilots flying nape of the earth on low powered planes have always scared me and this kills quite a few every year no matter what the skill level and training level is. As the saying goes- leave yourself some options.
Not sure Steve Fossett really needed to fake his death in order to live the "good life." For years the news people refered to him as "billionaire adventurer Steve Fossett."
Something, by the way, I aspire to have on my business card someday as well!
craigvince
Well Known Member
Let's move on
OK, time to move on.
OK, time to move on.
rv7boy
Forum Peruser
Fossett Crash Site Epilogue
I found this link with lots of photos and a few captions today in regard to the crash site cleanup. Looks like they are through with all the work on the mountain. One source said two feet of snow is now on the mountain and it won't be clear until next summer. It's a good thing they were able to find the wreckage and do all the onsite work before snowfall.
Just a follow-up as an epilogue to this thread.
Don
I found this link with lots of photos and a few captions today in regard to the crash site cleanup. Looks like they are through with all the work on the mountain. One source said two feet of snow is now on the mountain and it won't be clear until next summer. It's a good thing they were able to find the wreckage and do all the onsite work before snowfall.
Just a follow-up as an epilogue to this thread.
Don
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