Plane Carrying Aviation Adventurer Steve Fossett Missing

The news on my homepage had this story from the AP this morning:

Gary Derks, the state Department of Public Safety official in charge of the search, said the Air Force analyzed images picked up by radar and satellite and "picked up what could be Mr. Fossett, his track."

"It gives us an idea, if it's him, what direction he was going," Derks said of the wealthy adventurer, missing for more than three weeks.

Derks said the area stretches about 100 miles to the southeast from where Fossett took off Sept. 3, an airstrip on a million-acre ranch owned by hotel mogul Barron Hilton. Maps show the area would include Nevada's remote Silver Peak Range, close to Death Valley National Park in California.
no link yet

Near Death Valley, huh? Is that a subtle subliminal hint as to his fate? We will have to wait and see what this latest search effort produces.

Weird error made my post unviewable, so I posted it again. Never seen anything like it.

[edit on 26-9-2007 by Icarus Rising]

Derks said the area stretches about 100 miles to the southeast from where Fossett took off Sept. 3, an airstrip on a million-acre ranch owned by hotel mogul Barron Hilton. Maps show the area would include Nevada's remote Silver Peak Range, close to Death Valley National Park in California.

Isn't Death Valley is south west of most places in Nevada.

Going south east would be restricted air space and land at some point.

Know your state.

Originally posted by TeslaandLyne

Isn't Death Valley is south west of most places in Nevada.

Thanks for the post TeslaandLyne. Death Valley is in California. It is southeast of Reno and Carson City and south of all western Nevada. It is northwest of Las Vegas, Pahrump, Amargossa Valley and Death Valley Junction and west of Beatty.

Going south east would be restricted air space and land at some point.

The Silver Peak Range and Silver Peak itself is well to the west of the Nellis Range including the Nevada Test Site, both restricted airspaces.

If Fossett did get that far south it would be unlikely that he would turn east and proceed into the restricted area. In the unlikely event that he did he wold be met by Security Beechcraft 1900's and escorted out.

Under no circumstances would Fossett have ever been shot down except in the unlikely event he flew directly over S-4 which has ground to air, automatic and unrecallable missiles (according to Bob Lazar). To get to S-4 he would have had to fly through 150 miles of restricted airspace undetected. Unlikely to say the least.

reply to post by Icarus Rising

I've found the link to your homepage AP story.

signonsandiego.com...

I get the feeling that Steve is somewhere alive and working to help
with something fantastic..Terrestrial or ET. Guys with his drive are
always looking for the ultimate achievement before they die. Who
knows what contacts he's made in recent years. There's more to
this story than we'll know for a long time, IMO. -cwm

reply to post by johnlear

Hi John,

With regard to the AP story below, posted by Icarus Rising (the link I gave previously),

"Gary Derks, the state Department of Public Safety official in charge of the search, said the Air Force analyzed images picked up by radar and satellite and "picked up what could be Mr. Fossett, his track."

I've been wandering from the start exactly what the amount of 'crossover' would be between CAP and the Air Force in such a high profile case.
Does it seem 'strange' to you that this analysis of radar and satellite appears to have taken some time especially when great 'store' was set by the fact that Steve didn't file a plan and therefore wasn't tracked by radar.

Have these satellite images become apparent due to elimination of all other flights?
Does this mean every pilot flying in that time frame has volunteered their whereabouts?
Has the Air Force put out a public request to those pilots?
Is the number of pertinent flights made on that day available to the public?

Sorry for all the questions but you're 100% more qualified than I am regarding such things as radar/satellite imagery and analysis.

Cheers.

I've followed this thread from the day it started, and read through all the wild speculation of what may have happened to this man and his aircraft.
But it was way too many guesses without any hard evidence.............

Some member have tried to analyze the situation in an analytical way, but many have made totally unfounded leaps into the unknown, and made claims that are impossible to verify. I hope they've enjoyed their trip through the looking glass.

So in that vein, and without any proof, I offer this:


REST IN PEACE STEVE...


April 22, 1944 - September ?, 2007



A hearty farewell, and I'm glad you graced us with your spirit and drive.
I won't forget the contributions you made, and you won't be forgotten.

James Stephen Fossett (born April 22, 1944) is an American aviator, sailor and adventurer. Fossett made his fortune in the financial services industry and is best known for many world records including five nonstop circumnavigations of the Earth: as a long-distance solo balloonist, as a sailor, and as a solo airplane pilot. A fellow of the Royal Geographical Society and The Explorers Club, Fossett has set 116 records in five different sports, 60 of which still stand.

Fossett was reported missing on September 3, 2007 after the plane he was flying over the Nevada desert failed to return. The Civil Air Patrol and others are searching for him but he has not been located.

en.wikipedia.org...

You may have given up on the search for Mr. Fossett, AD, but others haven't.

The search goes on, and so does this thread.

It is natural for there to be speculation as to his fate and current location, some legitimate, some pretty wild, given the circumstances and locale of his disappearance.

You seem to take some kind of personal issue with this thread and that speculation. I'm curious as to why, if you care to elaborate.

I seen a plane fly over this way which looked like Steve Fossets plane!
(see my 9/5 post). It was flying low but did not land, at the small airport.
At the time it was heading north, however it could have turned west towards Death Valley. Like I said, it was a really pretty blue & white plane, unlike the ones you see around here. I'm not that far from Death Valley, as the raven flies. I do know that's a bad place for a plane to go down especially at that time. Not sure what the temperature was then in Death Valley, but most likely well over 100 degrees. Thinking of taking a day trip out there. There's a lake (sorry can't remember the name) we might check out. Can't swim in in though or you'll be itching into next year! Since Steve's been missing we've had some bad rains here and flooding on the valley floor. Don't know the road conditions near Death Valley. One year the roads got wiped-out from the rains.

John a religious group bought some land out there called "A Piece of Heaven" or something like that. Maybe Steve's with them.

*Wonders* if Ed Dames skipped town.

MountainStar, TommyCrown, and TeslaandLyne, I want you to know how much I appreciate you all taking such an interest in this story, and this thread specifically. Your quality contributions, local knowledge (MountainStar), and captivating speculation and analysis have made this one of the most interesting and informative Breaking Alternative News threads I have seen on this site in quite a while. And I am not just saying that because I started the thread, either. I feel fortunate to have been the one to put it up here, and blessed to have the attention you have devoted to it.

Thanks also to johnlear, JustMike, and makeitso, for the same.

Originally posted by Icarus Rising
You may have given up on the search for Mr. Fossett, AD, but others haven't.

It's understandable that others haven't given up on the search, but at this point I'd call it a recovery operation.

The search will go on, and so will this thread, I have no desire to stop either.

It is natural for there to be speculation as to his fate and current location, some legitimate, some pretty wild, given the circumstances and locale of his disappearance.

It's human nature to speculate when we can't find the truth. It's this desire to know that brought about man's creation of God. Until some evidence is found this will be another Amelia Earhart. Some people still think she was taken by aliens, but let's face it, aircraft crash or splash for many many reasons.

All the speculation in the world won't get you any closer to the truth until you get out there and produce irrefutable evidence.

You seem to take some kind of personal issue with this thread and that speculation. I'm curious as to why, if you care to elaborate.

Well, I have elaborated to a degree, but believe me, I have no personal issue with this particular thread. I've just stated my point of view as other members have, but my views have been rejected.

One of the nice things about this site:
On ATS I can speculate that my last cigarette contained a ghost that now inhabits my lungs, and now I hear voices from my chest.

You can agree or disagree, but that's the nature of the site.

You notice I didn't say search and rescue, although it is still remotely possible that Mr. Fossett is alive. Until and if he is found speculation will continue as to where he is and what happened to him.

Nearly all discovery begins with speculation. If we didn't entertain seemingly far-fetched notions, we would never invent or discover anything we didn't stumble across by accident.

Forty years ago we had Capt. Kirk and his "communicator" or whatever it was called. Today, we have the iPhone. Spock had his "tricorder." Today we have sophisticated diagnostic equipment that is very similar in function and design.

Many of the musings of Bradbury, Heinlein, and other prolific Sci-Fi writers of that era are the technological advances of today, and tomorrow.

Specualtion, and the ability to "think outside the box" are key to the survival and growth of humanity.

Croicky I,m dead Mate!!



Lol Poor adventurer

reply to post by Icarus Rising



We basically agree, but I disagree with part of your reasoning:

Nearly all discovery begins with speculation.

Change "speculation" with observation and that will sit right with me.
I try never to say never, and a lot of stuff is actually discovered because it was stumbled upon by accident.

He didn't vanish off the Earth, and only more observation will find the truth.

I posted in this thread the news that Google Earth had just updated sat. images for the search area with hi-res so others could look for the plane. I then spent days going over images inch by inch hoping to see something useful.
I really hoped he would be found by now, one way or the other.

From what I've seen of the terrain he flew over, it would be very easy to lose a plane, and we could still be talking about this in 20 years.

It would be one of the great feats of the century if he stumbled out of the brush asking for water, but I doubt it will happen.

Here in Alaska, we don't find some crashed planes until decades later. The most notable case would be that of Senator Begich, whom we did not find for more than 20 years. His wreck was found purely by accident. Nevada may be "small" when compared to Alaska, but Fosset still went down deep inside rough terrain that doesn't see much human traffic.

Like all pilots, we can only hope that he died doing what he loved. Throttle in one hand, stick in the other, feet on both pedals.

The old school bush pilot send off is basically, "with any luck, he never knew anything was wrong."

Originally posted by anxietydisorder

One of the nice things about this site:
On ATS I can speculate that my last cigarette contained a ghost that now inhabits my lungs, and now I hear voices from my chest.

Is it a good ghost that tells you to stop smoking, or a bad one urging you to carry on?

I welcome and entertain your comments.
Yes, we are speculating on this thread simply because we know this:
The type of plane, 3 bottles of water, no breitling and where Steve took off from.

Of course we have no hard evidence. Just like CAP, the Air Force, voluntary pilots, Steve's own team and Major Ed Dames (O.K. ignore that last one!).

Why, the next think you know, somebody's going to start speculating that Iran is going to nuke the USA! I guess the 'evidence' will be apparent after the event.

Getting back on thread, I've 'speculated' as to why the CAP stood down it's 'active' search.
There have been many detractors with regard to the cost of the operation (approx. $500,000).
Sure, if it was a Mr Smith missing he wouldn't have received the same treatment, but considering Steve's own fortune (oops! speculation again) and the greater fortunes of many of his friends, I've no doubt the tax payer will be fully reimbursed ( I'll write to Sir Richard).

When the hard evidence comes we will stop speculating and start paying tribute (just thought I'd warn some people in advance).

Before any member of ATS comes here and starts wobbling on about 'posting for points', I personally couldn't give a **** about amassing points!

reply to post by Justin Oldham


Plane wrecks have been found all over the world years after they happened, and you're so right. Wasn't an American nuclear bomber found in British Columbia after 30 years and with a lost arrow ?

Stuff happens, and everything isn't a conspiracy.

That's true. Not everything is a conspiracy. I've known a total of five people who have been killed in small plane crashes like this one. I wouldn't have bet against any of them. Light plane crashes are a fact of life here in Alaska. I'll stand by what I said earlier. I'm sorry to see this happen, but I take some comfort in knowing that Mr. Fosset died doing what he liked.

reply to post by anxietydisorder

Change "speculation" with observation and that will sit right with me.

I challenge the notion that mere passive observation is sufficient for discovery or invention. Observation in and of itself does nothing. What is observed must be interpreted, ie. speculated upon, for any useful discovery or invention to take place. Even the things we "stumble upon" are useless unless we speculate as to what possible use they may be.