Aviator Steve Fossett Missing [UPDATE 10/08] Wreckage found

[FSTargetDrone]

I thought this story was newsworthy because Fossett has been in the news in recent years for his various aviation achievements.

Adventurer Steve Fossett missing in US, search underway

4 hours ago

LOS ANGELES (AFP) — A massive search was under way over the mountains of Nevada on Tuesday after a plane flown by multi-millionaire world aviation record holder Steve Fossett went missing, officials said.

Fossett, famous for flying solo around the world by balloon and airplane, has not been heard from since taking off from a private airstrip near Yerington, west Nevada, around 9:00 am (1600 GMT) Monday, officials said.

The 63-year-old adventurer's family raised the alarm after Fossett failed to return in his single-engine Bellanca plane, Federal Aviation Administration officials told AFP.

"We were issued an alert due to family concern after aviation adventurer Steve Fossett ... failed to return after departing from M Ranch, a private airstrip in Yerington, Nevada," FAA spokesman Hank Price told AFP.

Fossett's office was not immediately available for comment.

The FAA said Fossett had not lodged a flight plan before take-off, possibly complicating efforts to locate him.

"If conditions are fine and there is likely to be no contact with air traffic control it is not necessary to file a flight plan," the FAA's Western US spokesman Ian Gregor told AFP.

Civil Air Patrol spokeswoman Major Cynthia Ryan said Fossett had been expected to return about three hours after the flight, which she described as a "a little excursion."

"He had more than enough fuel on board, so that should not have been an issue," she added.

Ryan said a total of 13 aircraft had been scrambled in the search for Fossett's plane, which was equipped with a satellite tracking system. She did not reveal if the device had indicated Fossett's whereabouts.

The search area covers hundreds of square miles of rugged terrain, making low-level search efforts fraught with hazards, officials said.

Fossett made the first solo nonstop, non-refueled circumnavigation of the world in 67 hours in the Virgin Atlantic GlobalFlyer.

In 2002, he was the first person to fly solo around the world in a balloon.

A multi-millionaire who made his fortune dealing stocks in Chicago, Fossett has spent the past two decades chasing world records and shattering them, sailing, floating and flying faster and farther than anyone before.

In 2006, the millionaire touched his aircraft down at an airfield on Britain's south coast, setting the record for the longest solo, non-stop, non-refueled flight in terms of distance.

Pushing his flying skills and physical endurance to the limits, Fossett guided his Virgin Atlantic GlobalFlyer some 42,000 kilometers (26,000 miles) around the world despite a gas leak at take-off and dangerous wind shifts.

Fossett has also set dozens of world records in sailboats, gliders and hot-air balloons.

A tireless athlete, Fossett has also swum the English Channel, raced in the Ironman Triathlon and has run in the grueling 1,165 mile (1,887-kilometer) Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race across Alaska.

He competed in the 24-hour Le Mans auto race as well.

Fossett has set more than 100 world records in five sports, of which 62 remain unbroken, and he told AFP in 2005 that he planned to carry on.

"There's no reason to stop," he said. "What I do will change -- when I'm 90 years old I can imagine sending a remote-controlled airplane around the world."

Fossett is also no stranger to brushes with death.

He has survived numerous near-misses and harrowing crash landings over the years, including a 29,000-foot (9,000-meter) plummet into the Coral Sea off Australia because of a storm-shredded balloon.

Born in California, Fossett attended Stanford University before obtaining an MBA from Washington University in St. Louis, Missouri.

Fossett has received numerous awards for his exploits, including the Gold Air Medal from the Federation Aeronautique Internationale, the US Sailing Association's 2001 Yachtsman of the Year and a Distinction in Exploration from the National Geographic Society.

"Missing" and "mountains" can never be a good combination when it comes to aircraft.

Another story says he was flying a "Citabria Super Decathlon," but thsi apepars to be the same thing as the "Bellanca" mentioned above.

Hope this turns out for the best.

[Broomstick]

LOS ANGELES (AFP) — A massive search was under way over the mountains of Nevada on Tuesday after a plane flown by multi-millionaire world aviation record holder Steve Fossett went missing, officials said.

Actually, the Civil Air Patrol (CAP) turns out in pretty good force for anyone who is missing.

The FAA said Fossett had not lodged a flight plan before take-off, possibly complicating efforts to locate him.

"If conditions are fine and there is likely to be no contact with air traffic control it is not necessary to file a flight plan," the FAA's Western US spokesman Ian Gregor told AFP.

And this is true - in the US in visual flight conditions outside of Class D or higher airspace flight plans are not required. They might be a good idea sometimes, but they aren't required. However, their utility is vastly overestimated by the non-flying public.

A VFR flight plan, which is what we're talking about here, really one serves two purposes (outside of a couple exceptions, none of which apply here). One, because you state when you intend to land and how much fuel you have on board it marks a time past which you are officially late-and-missing. Two, by giving an intended route of travel between airport A and B it helps the CAP to know where to start looking for you.

The problem is, sometimes you're not going between airports.

See, the ATC system is computerized and somewhat inflexible. Because it was developed for the airlines, which travel between airports, there isn't really a way to file a flight plan saying "I'm out for an hour's flight sight-seeing random bits of the landscape". This has a lot to do with why I haven't filed a flight plan for several years now. (Post 9/11 the security wonks wanted pilots to file flight plans even when staying in the airport traffic area practicing take-offs and landings. Said idea was nixed when it was discovered there was no way to enter that into the system, not to mention it would have busted an already strained system capacity) Reports are that Fossett was out scouting dry lake beds for a spot to set a new land speed record. In other words, he wasn't going airport-to-airport.

In such circumstances the wise thing to do is to let someone know what you intend to do and when you expect to be back. It would appear he did exactly that, as he was reported missing very soon after he would have been out of fuel. However, if the above is true the very sort of flying he was doing would complicate a search no matter how detailed his intended plans.

Ryan said a total of 13 aircraft had been scrambled in the search for Fossett's plane, which was equipped with a satellite tracking system. She did not reveal if the device had indicated Fossett's whereabouts.

That tracking system is called an "ELT" (emergency locator transmitter) and are required on all N-numbered aircraft having two or more seats. They are so damn useful, though, that even people who aren't required to use them - single-seaters and ultralights - frequently install them as well. They are inspected at least once a year (the regulation is a bit more complicated, but that's essentially what it boils down to) However, they do predate GPS and don't have pinpoint accuracy. They certainly do help. If, however, he is down in a canyon of some sort the terrain may block the ELT signal.

On the up side - an ELT is designed to trigger automatically in a crash. In that sense, no beep is good news. On the down side - even if you don't crash you can still manually trigger it to have someone come to your aid when you're stranded. No beep for a long time is bad news.

"Missing" and "mountains" can never be a good combination when it comes to aircraft.

No, it's not a good combination.

Another story says he was flying a "Citabria Super Decathlon," but thsi apepars to be the same thing as the "Bellanca" mentioned above.

Bellanca is an aircraft manufacturer, like Cessna or Piper or Lear or Beoing. A "Citabria" is one model they build. A "Decathalon" is another model they build. There is no such thing as a "Citabria Super Decathalon", but the confusion isn't surprising. I've flown a Citabria off and on for a couple years now, and am also familar with the Decathalon. To be honest, I doubt I could tell them apart at a glance, either, I'd have to look for details. They are both two-seat tandem tailwheel airplanes of roughly the same overall dimensions. Decatholons tend to sport things like aileron spades and g-meters, but you have to look fairly close to spot things like that. However, the paint job described is rather more typical of a Decathalon than a Citabria - not that that is any sort of definitive test as you are allowed to paint your airplane pretty much however you want, as long as the tail numbers are properly visible.

Hope this turns out for the best.

It very well might.

Keep in mind that Fossett is an accomplished pilot, both with and without an internal combustion engine. He has dealt with emergencies in the past, demonstrating that he can keep his head in a crisis. If you have to land in rugged terrain or - god forbid, crash - a Citabria/Decathalon is not a bad choice. As tailwheels they hand off-airport operations well (in this thread I talk about flying one off a former sod farm for an hour or so) and can land in a relatively short distance at a relatively low speed - Fossett would have the skill to do that, if needed. Even if you do smack into something, the pilot sits inside a steel frame which, although not providing a lot of protection, does provide some. The wood structure of the airplane outside of that quasi-rollcage would also tend to act as crumple zones, soaking up impact (and also destroying the airplane, but hey, Fossett could easily afford to buy a brand new Citabria - I can almost afford to do that!)

I do tend to worry about two scenarios in this circumstance, beyond "oh-my-gawd-something-went-wrong-and-he-crashed"

First - arrogance and overconfidence. There is a point where an aviator becomes so experienced and so skilled that he gets into an impossible situation by failing to properly respect the inherent hazards of flight. There is some reason to believe we lost Scott Crossfield last year to that, and Fossett would certainly be in the group of elites who can fall prey to this phenomena. Fossett has enormous skill and experience, but a Citabria has limitations and it is possible he overstepped them. I hope not.

Second - if he was scouting out dry lake beds (or some such - I am totally unfamilar with the terrain in the area in question) then he might have landed safely on one such (thereby accounting for no ELT signal) and come to harm on the ground. I have no idea of what specific hazards one might face in that area, but encountering a poisonous snake, a wild animal large enough to be dangerous, or simply falling off part of the landscape could result in death, serious injury, or an inability to get back to his airplane and signal for help. I hope that did not happen, either.

[FSTargetDrone]

Bellanca is an aircraft manufacturer, like Cessna or Piper or Lear or Beoing. A "Citabria" is one model they build. A "Decathalon" is another model they build. There is no such thing as a "Citabria Super Decathalon", but the confusion isn't surprising. I've flown a Citabria off and on for a couple years now, and am also familar with the Decathalon. To be honest, I doubt I could tell them apart at a glance, either, I'd have to look for details.

I see. This would explain why I had such a difficult time finding pictures of a "Citabria Super Decathalon" that I had intended to include with my post! I guess this misidentification is just another example of a writer being unfamiliar with a technical aspect of a story. I found a direct quote of The CAP major mentioned in the original story describing it:

Major Cynthia Ryan from the Civil Air Patrol says he had a radio and plenty of fuel on board.

"It was a Citabra Super Decathlon. It's a well-known airplane, very durable, and a lot of people fly them around here and it's an enjoyable little aerobatic airplane," she said.

Not to suggest that people in the field, even such as this CAP major, needs to know such details of every model and variant of aircraft. She is probably restating what she heard elsewhere.

In any case, good stuff. I hadn't known about the dry lake bed geography that may be near the area where he was. If he didn't crash, perhaps he did indeed set down safely and has stayed healthy. His best bet is to simply stay with his aircraft, or at least nearby.

[Broomstick]

Bellanca is an aircraft manufacturer, like Cessna or Piper or Lear or Beoing. A "Citabria" is one model they build. A "Decathalon" is another model they build. There is no such thing as a "Citabria Super Decathalon", but the confusion isn't surprising. I've flown a Citabria off and on for a couple years now, and am also familar with the Decathalon. To be honest, I doubt I could tell them apart at a glance, either, I'd have to look for details.

I see. This would explain why I had such a difficult time finding pictures of a "Citabria Super Decathalon" that I had intended to include with my post!

This is a Citabria:


This is a Decathlon

I guess this misidentification is just another example of a writer being unfamiliar with a technical aspect of a story. I found a direct quote of The CAP major mentioned in the original story describing it:

Major Cynthia Ryan from the Civil Air Patrol says he had a radio and plenty of fuel on board.

"It was a Citabra Super Decathlon. It's a well-known airplane, very durable, and a lot of people fly them around here and it's an enjoyable little aerobatic airplane," she said.

Not to suggest that people in the field, even such as this CAP major, needs to know such details of every model and variant of aircraft. She is probably restating what she heard elsewhere.

Or else she said "It was a Citabria or Super Decathlon" and was misquoted by either the reporter or a later editor.

[Broomstick]

And here is the precise plane in question, the actual item now missing along with Fossett:



The aviation boards have confirmed that it is, indeed, a Decathlon. If you see this airplane please call the Flying M ranch and/or the Fossett family.

[FSTargetDrone]

Or else she said "It was a Citabria or Super Decathlon" and was misquoted by either the reporter or a later editor.

Of course.

And you're right, those two aircraft look remarkably similar!

[FSTargetDrone]

Well, for anyone was wondering, Fossett is still missing:

Search for Fossett is downgraded

The search for US adventurer Steve Fossett has been scaled back two weeks after his plane vanished over the Nevada wilderness, officials say.

Nevada Civil Air Patrol has suspended aerial searches and put two planes on standby to follow any new leads.

Rescuers said 98% of the area that needed to be searched had been.

Mr Fossett went missing on 3 September after taking off in his single-engine aircraft from a Nevada airstrip for a flight supposed to last three hours.

The 63-year-old aviator did not file a flight plan with the aviation authorities because he was not required to do so.

The Civil Air Patrol has scoured huge areas of Nevada desert, as well as parts of California, in the hunt for Mr Fossett.

At the height of the operation, 45 planes were deployed.

"The Civil Air Patrol feel that they have completed their search of 98% of the ground that needed to be covered," Nevada State police spokesman Chuck Allen told the AFP news agency.

"They feel like they've done everything they can at this stage."

Two aircraft are being left on standby in case any new information comes in.

The National Guard is keeping five helicopters on search duty and rescuers are also continuing their efforts on the ground.

Wreckage

Officials are set to meet later this week to discuss ending the huge operation that has involved dozens of flights and searches by both official organisations and volunteers.

People have also been scouring up-to-date satellite images from Google Earth to try to spot Mr Fossett's downed plane or wreckage.

The search in Nevada by the Civil Air Patrol and many private pilots has discovered several previously undiscovered downed planes - some of which were decades old.

Mr Fossett reportedly took the flight to look for locations that could be used for an attempt on the land speed record.

Mr Fossett has racked up about 100 world records. In March 2005, he became the first to fly a plane solo, non-stop around the globe.

As an aside, note the bolding near the bottom of the article. I wonder if any human remains were found in or around those other wrecks?

[Broomstick]

Not likely.

Animal scavengers are pretty efficient. You might find a few gnawed bones, but even those are likely to be quite scattered by now in decades-old wrecks. Unless wreckage piled up in such a way as to make body parts truly inaccessible to anything mouse sized or larger you aren't likely to find even bones. Insects, being able to get into just about anything, would likely have devoured the rest.

Keep in mind many of these wrecks could be from wood-and-cloth airplanes, which will eventually decay completely away.

Yes, it's arid territory which tends to preserve things, but not so arid as to have no life forms at all.

[Drewcifer]

Even Death Valley is populated by all kinds of critters (including one species of fish. Granted, they live in an underground lake)

[Bounty]

I wasn't sure of this warranted a new thread, so mods, please move as necessary.

The wreck of Fossett's aircraft has been found, along with some of his personal belongings:

The wreckage of a plane found near the town of Mammoth Lakes in California does belong to missing US adventurer Steve Fossett, officials say.

A number plate confirmed the plane as the single-engine Bellanca Super Decathlon owned by the 63-year-old millionaire businessman.

The search began after a hiker found items thought to belong to Mr Fossett.

He vanished in September last year on a solo flight that took off 90 miles (145km) away in neighbouring Nevada.

Click here to see a map of the area

A wide-ranging search operation conducted since then had failed to find any trace of Mr Fossett or his plane and he was legally declared dead by a court in Chicago in February.

Authorities said there would now be an extensive search for human remains by about 50 people and five dog teams.

The National Transportation Safety Board will be responsible for examining the wreckage.

New search area

Identity documents bearing Mr Fossett's name - including a pilot's licence - as well as cash and a sweatshirt were found by hiker Preston Morrow on Monday.

He had been returning from a mountain walk when he spotted the items in dirt and pine needles west of Mammoth Lakes.

An employee at a sporting goods store, Mr Morrow said he handed them over to police after unsuccessful attempts to contact the Fossett family.

The BBC's Rajesh Mirchandani, in Los Angeles, says the items were found outside the vast area searched after Mr Fossett went missing - and also in a different direction to that in which he was thought to have flown.

Mammoth Lakes has an elevation of about 7,800ft (2,400m) and is on the eastern side of the Sierra Nevada range.

Teams led by the Madera County Sheriff's Department began a search of the area following Mr Morrow's discovery.

Erica Stuart, a spokeswoman for the department, said what looked like plane wreckage had been spotted late on Wednesday night.

On Thursday morning, the National Transportation Safety Board said wreckage had been found about 10,000ft (3,200m) up the Sierra Nevada mountains.

However, Mammoth Lakes' community liaison officer, Stuart Brown, told the BBC severe weather could hamper the ongoing investigation.

"We've got six to 12 inches of snow coming in Friday night, Saturday, with high winds - our first big storm of the season - so we'll just have to see how that affects the search," he said.

Mr Fossett took off from the ranch of hotel magnate Barron Hilton, at Yerington, Nevada, on 3 September 2007 on a flight that was expected to last three hours.

In 2002, he became the first person to circle the globe solo in a balloon and had about 100 other world records to his name.

[RedImperator]

This is probably the board record for acceptable necromancy. I updated the title to reflect new developments.

[FSTargetDrone]

This is probably the board record for acceptable necromancy. I updated the title to reflect new developments.

Okay, good, thanks.

Here is a picture of the personal effects in a recent article:

October 3, 2008
Wreckage of Fossett’s Plane Is Found
By STEVE FRIESS and ANAHAD O’CONNOR



California authorities have confirmed that the wreckage of a plane they found is that of Steve Fossett, the millionaire adventurer who vanished more than a year ago after embarking on a solo flight.

Madera County Sheriff John Anderson said that an aerial search late Wednesday spotted what appeared to be wreckage in the Inyo National Forest near the town of Mammoth Lakes. He said ground crews were sent to verify the sighting, and they confirmed it was Fossett’s single-engine Bellanca plane, The Associated Press reported.

The search for Mr. Fossett was renewed this week after a hiker, Preston Morrow, said he came across a few of Mr. Fossett’s belongings in some bushes in the Mammoth Lakes region on Monday. Among the items he found were Mr. Fossett’s Illinois-issued Federal Aviation Administration identification, his pilot’s license, a tattered sweatshirt and about $1,000 in cash. The discovery prompted officials from the Mono County and Madera County sheriff’s offices to retrace Mr. Morrow’s steps on foot and by air.

Mr. Fossett, 63, of Chicago, took off for what was expected to be a brief flight on Sept. 3, 2007, from a private ranch in Yerington, Nev., about 120 miles north of the high-mountain Sierra Nevada area where Mr. Morrow found the items. Mr. Fossett never returned, and the largest air and ground search in United States history, across a 17,000-square-mile region, failed to find him or his blue-and-white Bellanca Citabria Super Decathlon.

Earlier on Wednesday, Undersheriff Frank Bernard said searchers needed to hurry because the area where Mr. Morrow uncovered the items was expected to receive its first snowfall of the season this weekend. Mammoth Lakes is about 10,000 feet above sea level, and snow makes already difficult terrain largely impassable and could bury plane wreckage.

Mr. Morrow, a 43-year-old ski shop owner, told KNBC-TV in Los Angeles that he was hiking “way, way off” the established trails in the Ansel Adams Wilderness section of the two-million-acre Inyo National Forest when he first spotted a bunch of $100 bills. He then noticed the laminated cards with Mr. Fossett’s name but did not notify the authorities until Tuesday because it took him a day to recall who Mr. Fossett was, he told KNBC.

Mr. Fossett’s wife, Peggy, issued a statement on Wednesday saying she was monitoring the situation.

“I am hopeful that this search will locate the crash site and my husband’s remains,” Mrs. Fossett said. “I am grateful to all of those involved in this effort.”

The Fossetts were married for 39 years and had no children. Mr. Fossett was declared dead by a Chicago judge this year at his wife’s request.

The Inyo region was flown over repeatedly during the monthlong search for Mr. Fossett, but those who have hiked and flown over it say it is dense, mountainous forest where something as small as a two-seat light aircraft would be easy to overlook.

“It’s very hard to see by air; there’s so many crevices, so many rocks, so many crazy shapes that unless you’re looking literally a few feet from it, it would be very hard to see,” said Rusty Aimer, chief executive of Aviation Experts, an aviation consulting firm based in San Clemente, Calif., who has flown the Inyo region many times. “Everybody was saying that someday some hiker would run into the wreckage of his airplane, and here it is, that’s almost exactly what’s happened.”

Mr. Fossett held numerous world records and was the first person to circumnavigate the world in a hot-air balloon as well as the first to fly a plane solo around the globe without refueling. His close friend Richard Branson had said that Mr. Fossett was most likely flying around the Yerington area searching for dry lake beds in which to challenge the world’s land-speed record, his latest quest.

[Sidewinder]

So they found Fossett's plane, which was a wreckage, but they've yet to find the body. Is it possible he survived the crash (I assume this is the reason the plane is a wreckage)? Was seriously injured in the crash, exited the plane, and died shortly afterwards due to his injuries? Or did he die, only for scavengers (bears or wolves) to drag his body out of the cockpit?

[Qwerty 42]

So they found Fossett's plane, which was a wreckage, but they've yet to find the body. Is it possible he survived the crash (I assume this is the reason the plane is a wreckage)? Was seriously injured in the crash, exited the plane, and died shortly afterwards due to his injuries? Or did he die, only for scavengers (bears or wolves) to drag his body out of the cockpit?

It seems all but impossible that he survived for any extended length of time. He would have had just a month to get out of the area with whatever injuries he had before the snows started. It seems likely that he left the crash site only to pass shortly thereafter.

[The Duchess of Zeon]

So they found Fossett's plane, which was a wreckage, but they've yet to find the body. Is it possible he survived the crash (I assume this is the reason the plane is a wreckage)? Was seriously injured in the crash, exited the plane, and died shortly afterwards due to his injuries? Or did he die, only for scavengers (bears or wolves) to drag his body out of the cockpit?

It could go either way. He only had a water bottle and no hiking gear, so the chance of making it out alive is slim (though, in the described terrain, probably was a better decision than staying with the wreck); he could have easily perished on the way out. Notice that they searched a ten mile radius from where the money and jacket and so on was found; I suspect he probably made it about 10 - 12 miles over several days before perishing (possibly covered a lot more ground if ever lost his way) and then animals ripped off his sweater and tossed around the contents of his wallet and so on from where he fell, and it might be years or decades before they find his remains, though an intensive search in the area where the money and sweat was found might turn up something.

They have a somewhat better chance of finding the body if he died on impact or was wounded and died a while later and animals did drag the corpse out of the aircraft, but I can't imagine it would have been hauled far them.

[Broomstick]

So they found Fossett's plane, which was a wreckage, but they've yet to find the body. Is it possible he survived the crash (I assume this is the reason the plane is a wreckage)? Was seriously injured in the crash, exited the plane, and died shortly afterwards due to his injuries? Or did he die, only for scavengers (bears or wolves) to drag his body out of the cockpit?

It's not like the cockpit of a Decathlon is particularly substantial. There's a plate on the floor so your feet don't go through the bottom when you get in, but the structure is painted dacron over a steel and wood frame. By "dacron" I mean something like what they make windbreakers out of (although with better quality control in manufacture) covered with primer and paint. I could easily put my fist through the side of such an airplane (pilots escaping wrecks have done exactly that on occasion) so a wild animal equipped with teeth and claws would have no trouble getting through it. For that matter some animals - cows are particularly noteworthy for this, for what reason no knows - will EAT the painted fabric.

If he died in the wreck animals probably had no trouble...um... recycling the remains. If he survived the wreck and staggered out of the airplane, then died, animals would have no trouble - >cough< - doing the recycling thing either.

It is possible that if he survived he might have used the airplane as a fuel source for a fire (wood, fabric, oil, and avgas all burn nicely). If anyone finds that, well, it would be interesting but if he hasn't shown up by now he's dead. Despite rumors to the contrary he had neither motive nor desire to fake his death or run away from his life.

Apparently, they identified the airplane from the metal plate that identifies maker, year of manufacture, and model/serial number. Normally, airplanes are identified from the ID numbers painted on them in large alphanumeric characters (you can easily see them in the airplane pictures earlier in this thread). This would tend to indicate that the wreck is indeed that, a wreck, in pieces, and with little of the fabric left.

I'm rather bummed by all this. Fossett was, after all, a Chicago area pilot. I never spoke with him directly but I've certainly seen him around and heard him over the radio. My boss, on the other hand, has both sailed and flown with Fossett and while they weren't exactly friends they were a bit more than mere acquaintances. According to the boss he was a really decent guy. There was some concern that this was a hoax and thus Mrs. Fossett asked that the documents be confirmed as authentic although throwing a few $100 bills to wind is pretty serious for a hoax. It is also entirely consistent with Mr. Fossett, who liked to pay cash for things and for whom $1,000 or so was pocket change.

They showed some images of the wreck on the news. Of course, this is speculation on my part, bu the airplane was in many pieces. Some of that could have been weathering and scavenging animals, but it is also consistent with a high speed impact. Decathlons are tough - although the outer skin is relatively fragile the support structures inside are very strong. The airport where I took my tailwheel training had someone snap the main wing spar of Decathlon while performing aerobatic maneuvers. Normally, when that happens the airplane folds up like an umbrella turning inside-out in a hurricane - in this case, despite the main spar being in two pieces, the rest of the wing structure was strong enough to hold together long enough for him to fly back to the airport and land safely. It is, of course, possible to destroy one while in flight but it would be extraordinary - given that the wreckage is (apparently) in a very small area it is far more likely it disintegrated on impact. This might also explain why there was never a distress beacon - a crash that that thoroughly smashed the airplane may have well separated the ELT from its power or even wrecked it. ELT's are tough, but not invincible.

That leaves the question of what the hell happened? What caused one of the more experienced and skillful pilots in the world to crash head-on into the side of a mountain?

Here's a picture of part of the wreck:

I am familiar with intact Decathlons, and I've seen the interior, under the skin. I am still having trouble figuring out what the hell these parts are. They're clearly from an airplane, but which parts I'm not sure. Judging from the pictures of the airplane and the colors seen here, as well as that curved piece with the "lightening" holes, I think it's one of the wing panels although I've seen at least one news source list this as part of the fuselage. I'm pretty sure it's part of the wing, although some of the parts shown here certainly could be part of the fuselage. As you can see, the fabric is shredded and the underlying structure completely disrupted.

The engine was found 300 feet (about 100 meters) from the rest of the wreck, apparently further along the suspected line of travel. This is also consistent with a high speed crash. Under such circumstances the engine can break free from its mounts and the cowling over it is about the thickness of a pop can and thus poses little obstacle to a heavy, fast-moving object.

UPDATE: the news just reported human remains were found in the wreck (I don't see any body parts in that picture, do you? Must not be large remains.) Of course, it will not be official until a forensic exam is conducted but it's pretty sure they are what's left of Mr. Fossett.

[Sidewinder]

That leaves the question of what the hell happened? What caused one of the more experienced and skillful pilots in the world to crash head-on into the side of a mountain?

I read a few pages of Jimmy Doolittle's biography, which stated the famed aviator quit flying in his later years, the reason being he no longer flew often enough to remain "current" (retain the knowledge and ability to deal with midair emergencies), and that several of his friends, also experienced and skilled pilots, died in avoidable accidents because they thought their experience would allow them to take risks a newbie would avoid.

In short, it's possible Fossett became complacent and took risks he thought he could take as an experienced pilot. As for what those risks were... Navigational errors made due to unfamiliarity with the area, maybe?

[Broomstick]

Navigational errors sufficient to result in a head-on collision with a mountain do not normally occur on clear days with pilots with a functional visual system and brain. Fossett flew frequently enough, and was young enough, that "currency" shouldn't have been an issue.

Complacency, of course, can kill.

There is the possibility that he might have had a heart attack, stroke, bird strike, or other incapacitating incident while in flight. Decathlons in good condition (and the one he was in was in good condition) are pretty stable in flight. It is possible that, after a pilot became incapacitated, such an airplane could continue flying in a straight line until impacting part of the landscape. In such a case a pilot may, in fact, be dead before impact.

Although I would prefer he not be dead at all, under the circumstances I hope he died no later than impact rather than lingering hours or even days in agony before expiring.

(There are at least two instances I'm aware of where a small Cessna with an unconscious pilot glided to a safe landing without human intervention after running out of fuel, but neither of those occurred in mountainous terrain and, needless to say, such a flight is NOT recommended!)

[Broomstick]

Another picture:


Again, I'm not sure what part of the airplane this is from. A Decathlon is a mix of metal and wood.

Latest reports are that such a small amount of remains have been found that identification is expected to be from DNA.

[FSTargetDrone]

There is the possibility that he might have had a heart attack, stroke, bird strike, or other incapacitating incident while in flight.

That's what happened to a flight carrying golfer http://www.airsafe.com/stewart.htm]Payne Stewart in 1999, as I am sure you recall. He was in a Lear jet, but the aircraft apparently lost cabin pressure and the emergency oxygen system malfunctioned, or the crew couldn't get to it in time. The aircraft flew on until it ran out of fuel. All aboard were killed.

[FSTargetDrone]

Dammit, messed up the Payne Stewart tags. That's what i get for posting from a PDA and tiny keyboards!

[Broomstick]

CNN has a slide show with some fairly clear pictures. From these it is clear that not only did the engine break free of the rest of the airplane, but some of the engine accessories broke off the engine block. There is also evidence of fire at the crash sight, and what looks like charred wood. I think, however, that it is not a campfire (it's not compact enough) but charred wood from the airplane structure. In sum, a violent, forceful crash.

[Tribun]

They found body parts in the wreckage (sorry, no link in English available).
Looks like he is really dead.

[Sarevok]

They found body parts in the wreckage (sorry, no link in English available).
Looks like he is really dead.

The BBC has the story posted as well, in english

[Broomstick]

Oddly enough, I find the extreme destruction shown at the wreck site as a comfort of sorts. In all likelihood he was dead no later than impact and did NOT linger for hours or days before expiring.

Speculation amongst the pilot community ranges from sudden heart attack, stroke, or blood clot (Fossett was, after all, in his 50's - although pilots must pass a physical on a regular basis such events do sometimes happen without warning) to hypoxia or CO poisoning from malfunctioning heating systems to a concern that, despite his vast experience, he was primarily a Chicago-area pilot and therefore a flatlander unaccustomed to mountains and their particular hazards. There is a real possibility we will never know for sure what exactly happened.