Fossett disappearance turning into major mystery
Pastor Dale Morgan
*Fossett disappearance turning into major mystery*
By Rob Woollard in Los Angeles
September 16, 2007 05:27am
Article from: AAP
LIKE Amelia Earhart's disappearance over the Pacific Ocean 70 years ago,
the riddle of Steve Fossett's whereabouts is threatening to become one
of the world's greatest aviation mysteries.
Nearly two weeks after Fossett's light plane vanished above a vast
expanse of rugged Nevada wilderness, an army of rescuers and volunteers
are still no closer to locating the millionaire aviator.
And as the frustrating search acres continues to yield no clues, rescue
officials say there is a chance that Fossett may never be found.
"That is always a possibility,'' Lyon County undersheriff Joe Sanford
admitted at Minden Air Base this week.
Fossett has not been heard from since September 3, when he took off on a
solo flight from a private airstrip south of Reno, and failed to return
as scheduled three hours later.
Since then, a mini air-force of helicopters and planes have taken to the
skies in an effort to locate the 63-year-old, a veteran of several world
record breaking balloon and plane flights around the globe.
Mr Sanford said a total of about 52,000 sq km had been searched by
Friday, with no success.
Rescuers have also been backed by an army of online volunteers who have
been poring over satellite imagery from Internet giants Google and
Amazon in an effort to locate Fossett's plane.
Yet despite spotting wreckage from seven previously unrecorded crash
sites, there has been no trace of Fossett's single-engined Bellanca
Citabria Super Decathlon.
While the hunt for Fossett is no longer leading national television
bulletins, rescuers say they will continue to search for the adventurer
until instructed otherwise.
"We're still at the mindset that we are going to continue to look for
him because we have a duty to unless we're told to stop,'' said Chuck
Allen, a trooper with the Nevada State Police.
"It's still going to be status quo search and rescue until we're told by
the family to discontinue or until a higher authority decides that all
of resources have been exhausted. I don't think we're at that level yet.''
The search has been hindered by Fossett's failure to file a flight plan.
That has left rescuers searching for a "needle in a haystack".
The trail of false leads has also given rise to conspiracy theories,
although Mr Allen was sceptical that there was any explanation for
Fossett's disappearance other than the obvious one: that his plane
landed or crashed in a remote, inaccessible area.
Asked if police had investigated the possibility that Fossett had chosen
to disappear, Mr Allen said: "I don't know who's working those angles,
but our mindset is that we are dealing with a search and rescue operation.
"As far as we're concerned we've got a missing plane, and we don't know
why it's missing.''
Fossett has survived numerous near-misses and harrowing crash landings
over the years, including a 9000m plummet into the Coral Sea off
Australia because of a storm-shredded balloon.
Initially, rescuers said Fossett's proven ability to endure gruelling
conditions made them confident he could be found alive.
As the search has progressed however, officials concede that the chances
of Fossett's survival have diminished.
"With every day that goes forward, particularly if he has been injured
in a crash, obviously it is a concern,'' Mr Allen said.
"(Autumn) is just around the corner and temperatures are going to start
dropping at night-time and so forth.''
A recent case involving a 76-year-old Oregon woman who survived two
weeks stranded in the wilderness before being rescued gave searchers
hope, Mr Allen said.
"With Steve's record as a survivalist, I certainly wouldn't want to be
the person that says 'That's it, we're done, stop looking.''' he said.
"If there's any hope at all that he's alive, we have to keep at it.''