Survival experts doubt Steve Fossett is alive
Pastor Dale Morgan
Survival experts doubt Steve Fossett is alive*
By Katie Franklin and agencies
Last Updated: 1:59pm BST 12/09/2007
Survival experts today said it was unlikely that missing record-breaking
US adventurer Steve Fossett would be found alive.
More than a week after he embarked on a routine flight in Nevada, there
is still no sign of the millionaire entrepreneur or his single-engine plane.
Steve Fossett became the first person to fly solo non-stop around the
world in 2005
The 63-year-old was last seen taking off from a private airstrip, about
80 miles south-east of Reno, on September 3.
Authorities believe Fossett, known for his numerous record-breaking solo
flights by plane and balloon, was carrying only a bottle of water.
As the search for Fossett entered its 10th day, outdoor survival experts
said the chances that the adventurer was still alive were slim.
"As kind of an adventure guy myself, I hope the other way. But I would
say it would be really, really tough," said survival expert Kurt
Kuznicki, a member of the conservation group Friends of Nevada Wilderness.
Experts said while the aviator could find food and shelter from the
rugged Nevada landscape, it was concerning that he had not signalled
rescuers.
"There's no news of him signalling for help and that's a problem," said
David McMullen, a leader of the hiking group Desert Survivors.
"He's either so injured he can't signal or he's perished."
Fossett's plane was equipped with an emergency beacon, and he was
wearing a high-tech watch capable of generating a similar alarm.
But Major Cynthia Ryan, of the Nevada Civil Air Patrol, said she was not
concerned by a lack of signal.
"Maybe he's got a couple of broken arms and can't signal," Maj Ryan
said, adding she was betting on Fossett's "sheer grit and determination".
However, Lee Bergthold, the director of the Palmdale, California-based
Centre for Wilderness Studies, said searchers would be "lucky to find
him alive".
Nevada is the driest state in the US and Mr Bergthold said Fossett would
be hard-pressed to find water in unfamiliar terrain.
"No food, that's not a problem. No water, that's a problem. That's a
harsh desert out there," he said.
Temperatures during the search area have reached 30Cs, with lows ranging
from 11 to 16C.
Mr Fossett, a former stock market trader, became the first person to fly
solo non-stop around the world in 2005 on an expedition sponsored by Sir
Richard Branson.
Last year, he flew 26,389.3 miles in the Virgin Atlantic Global Flyer on
a record-breaking journey lasting 76 hours and 45 minutes, further than
anyone in history.
He and a co-pilot also claim to have set a world glider altitude record
of 50,671 feet (15,445 metres) during a flight in August over the Andes
Mountains.
Not limited to conventional aircraft, in 2002 Mr Fossett was the first
person to fly solo around the world in a balloon.