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Search finds Fossett's aircraft
The wreckage of the light aircraft that belonged to missing millionaire adventurer Steve Fossett has been found. The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) said a team had found a single-engine Bellanca Super Decathlon plane near the town of Mammoth Lakes in eastern California.The search began after a hiker found items on Monday thought to have belonged to Fossett who disappeared on a solo flight in September 2007. Fossett, 63, had set off from Nevada for a local flight but failed to return. The NTSB said on Thursday the wreckage, found 3,200m up the Sierra Nevada mountains, "appears to be the aircraft piloted by Steve Fossett" and that they were sending an investigator to the site. 'No human remains' Rescuers later reached the plane on foot and confirmed it was Fossett's aircraft but found no human remains at the crash site. John Anderson, the Madera County Sheriff, said photos of the site appeared to indicate that the plane had smashed head-on into a mountainside at high speed. "The crash looked so severe I doubt if someone would have walked away from it. "There was no body in the plane. We have not found any human remains at the crash site," Anderson said. Mark Rosenker, an official from the National Transportation and Safety Board, said preliminary analysis of the site indicated Fossett had died in the crash. "Information is indicative of a high-impact crash, which appears to be consistent with a non-survivable accident," he said, adding it would likely take "weeks, perhaps months" before the cause of the accident was determined. Fossett's widow, Peggy, welcomed the discovery of her husband's plane. "I especially want to thank Preston Morrow who made this discovery and turned Steve's belongings over to the authorities. "The uncertainty surrounding my husband's death over this past year has created a very difficult situation for me. "I hope now to be able to bring to closure a very painful chapter in my life," she said. Posted by: Fred 2008-10-03 |
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