Steve Fossett items found!!!

[BEfly]

http://www.iht.com/articles/ap/2008/10/01/america/NA-US-Fossett-Search.php

http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-fossett2-2008oct02,0,1608495.story

 

[414Flyer]

Wreckage reportedly found now too

 

[Princedietrich]

Something not right about the whole situation.

If the guy was just planning on flying his Stinson/T-Craft/whateveritwas for a couple hours to scout some race terrain, why would he have a thousand bucks cash on him?

That certainly does look like his pilot certificate, but I'd have to get a REALLY close look at it to see if the microtext is there to make it truly authentic. I do find it kind of strange that the only part of it that is damaged is the missing seal in the upper right corner, it looks almost like it was bent or snapped off with a pair of pliers or something.

**EDIT: Ok, now that I've seen different pictures and gotten a better look, it appears that the upper right corner was melted off or suffered some sort of heat damage. All of the information on there is accurate.

Obviously there would be no medical cert, because that flimsy cardstock would never survive 13 months out in the open. I think the only reason his soaring card made it was because of the lamination. But where's the photo ID? Just about every pilot carries their pilot cert and medical and photo ID in the same pocket at the same time, or clumped together in a wallet of some sort.

I dunno, odds are the guy is dead and we'll probably never find what's left of him, what with the scavengers and predators that live in that terrain. But these new circumstances seem a little strange. It'll be interesting to see what that "wreckage" nearby turns out to be, I imagine the news of it will come out within the next couple hours.

 

[skyaddict]

The sighting of "possible" wreckage hasn't been confirmed yet- who knows it might be a trashed ATV or something ... but I suspect we'll have an answer later today. Though I see there could be a snowstorm hitting that part of the Sierras today. Hopefully they have a slid GPS lock by now at least.

 

[say again]

Something not right about the whole situation.

If the guy was just planning on flying his Stinson/T-Craft/whateveritwas for a couple hours to scout some race terrain, why would he have a thousand bucks cash on him?

But where's the photo ID? Just about every pilot carries their pilot cert and medical and photo ID in the same pocket at the same time, or clumped together in a wallet of some sort.

I dunno, odds are the guy is dead and we'll probably never find what's left of him, what with the scavengers and predators that live in that terrain. But these new circumstances seem a little strange. It'll be interesting to see what that "wreckage" nearby turns out to be, I imagine the news of it will come out within the next couple hours.

Here comes the conspiracy theories!!! I honestly don't find what is so strange about these new findings.

I know of many pilots that carry their photo ID (almost 100% a drivers license) separate from their pilots certs and medical. This is to prevent losing the both of them in case of lost/stolen wallet.

Since when is carrying cash cause for suspicion? Some people prefer to buy gas, supplies, etc using it.

 

[Erlanger]

If you want conspiracy theories and stupidity about Fossett, just goto this place for it;

http://content.usatoday.com/community/comments.aspx?id=32831142.story&p=1

 

[Princedietrich]

Dude, stop staring at Shakira's butt for 5 seconds will ya?

I never spouted off a whackjob conspiracy theory, all I said was that the circumstances seem strange. Maybe they're not strange to you, but they are to me. Besides, I don't think he's faked his own death or been kidnapped by alien anal probes or anything, I honestly believe he's most likely dead and we'll probably never find any remains.

Granted, it would be kinda cool to think of him as sitting on a beach somewhere on the other side of the world getting tanned with a pair of nude 16 year olds and being funded by a Richard Branson expense account. :beer:



And CNN, as of 8 minutes ago, is saying that the local authorities are confirming that the nearby wreckage is what's left of the plane he was flying. No photos or anything, but they quoted a guy as saying the wreck is pretty bad.

 

[MJG]

From CNN's website:

"Authorities have found the plane Steve Fossett was flying when he disappeared last year, but they have not found the millionaire adventurer's body, the Madera County, California, sheriff said Thursday.

Fossett's pilot's license and a torn $100 bill were found by a hiker Wednesday.

"They did locate an aircraft which we have now confirmed is the one Steve Fossett was flying when it disappeared last Labor Day," Sheriff John Anderson told reporters at a news conference in Mammoth Lakes.

The plane apparently crashed head-on into the side of a mountain, and the damage was "so severe I doubt someone would've walked away from it," the sheriff said.

Anderson said local authorities would search for Fossett's remains, and the National Transportation Safety Board would try to determine why and how the crash occurred.

The sheriff's department said Wednesday that wreckage was spotted during an aerial search of the area where hikers had discovered items apparently belonging to the missing aviator.

A Thursday NTSB statement said, "The Bellanca 8KCAB (N240R) has been missing since September 3, 2007, when the pilot departed Yerington, Nevada for a local flight. The wreckage was located at about 10,000 feet of elevation in the Sierra Nevada Mountains in the vicinity of Mammoth Lakes, California."

Hours before Wednesday's aerial sighting, hikers found cash and identification cards with Fossett's name.

"We're not certain that it belongs to Steve Fossett, but it certainly has his name on the I.D." said Mammoth Lakes Police Chief Randy Schienle."

They also have a small photo of what looks to be the wreckage.

 

[A Squared]

If the guy was just planning on flying his Stinson/T-Craft/whateveritwas for a couple hours to scout some race terrain, why would he have a thousand bucks cash on him?

Why wouldn't he. What's strange about that? The guy was pretty wealthy in his own right, and granted you and I probably don't make a habit of carrying around that kind of cash on a regular basis, neither of us are in his leauge s far as personal wealth.

 

[OrionFE]

Here comes the conspiracy theories!!! I honestly don't find what is so strange about these new findings.

I know of many pilots that carry their photo ID (almost 100% a drivers license) separate from their pilots certs and medical. This is to prevent losing the both of them in case of lost/stolen wallet.

Since when is carrying cash cause for suspicion? Some people prefer to buy gas, supplies, etc using it.

I keep mine seperate also. If I was a Millionaire, I probably would have a wad of cash in my front pocket as well.

 

[Amish RakeFight]

Wallet and certificates have always been separate. Flight certificates stay with flight gear. State ID remains in wallet.

Rich guys carry $1,000+ in hundred dollar bills regularly.

 

[400A]

The wreckage was reported to be around the 10,000ft mark flown into the side of the mountain. Does anyone know how well a Decathlon performs up there?

 

[A Squared]

The wreckage was reported to be around the 10,000ft mark flown into the side of the mountain. Does anyone know how well a Decathlon performs up there?

I've flown through 11,000 ft passes with two adults in a 115 hp Citabria. I would imagine that a Decathalon (150-180 hp depending on exact variant) would perform just fine with one person at 10,000. Flying in the mountains isn't about performance, anyway. It's about judgement, doesn't matter what you're flying, you can always find a downdraft or terrain that you can't outclimb. The key is making sure you don't get in those situations and always have an out.

That said, I have no idea how Fossett came to grief and am not attempting to cast aspersions on him.

 

[waka]

Something not right about the whole situation.

If the guy was just planning on flying his Stinson/T-Craft/whateveritwas for a couple hours to scout some race terrain, why would he have a thousand bucks cash on him?

You're really looking/reaching for a conspiracy theory. A thousand bucks to Fossett is probably his walking around money.......like fifty or a hundred for me. There is nothing unusual about that. Do yourself a favor. Keep your day job and don't become a private investigator!

(Yeah, I know. I'm essentially repeating A Squared)

 

[Amish RakeFight]

It would be kind of neat though, to stage your own death. Especially if you're a millionaire. Boy, would I have some fun, I tell ya what.

 

[A Squared]

(Yeah, I know. I'm essentially repeating A Squared)

s'all right. Wisdom such as mine bears repeating (joking)

Yeah, I think Prince is stretching just a bit. His Photo ID wasn't found? GOsh, neither were the soles of his boots, teeth, zipper from his pants, and for 13 months, his entire airplane ..... but not finding his photo ID in a scatterd crash site that's been exposed to the animanls and elememts for a year and a half is certainly fishy..... right.

 

[avbug]

The wreckage was reported to be around the 10,000ft mark flown into the side of the mountain. Does anyone know how well a Decathlon performs up there?

Apparently not so good.

It's wrecked, you see.

 

[PCL_128]

Granted, it would be kinda cool to think of him as sitting on a beach somewhere on the other side of the world getting tanned with a pair of nude 16 year olds and being funded by a Richard Branson expense account. :beer:

16 year olds? I hope that was a typo.

 

[A Squared]

16 year olds? I hope that was a typo.

Why? 16 is a prefectly legal age in many parts of the world, as well as most states in the US.

 

[say again]

Apparently not so good.

It's wrecked, you see.

Yeah, good observation!!