Steve Fossett... Plane... Missing... Found

Again pure speculation. Leave that to the media Scott. You do this in every thread. Everything is just a guess.
A mans life is in peril. Let the people who KNOW provide facts. I hear EXTRA is hiring. You would be a good fit.

 

Yikes... one of my relatives by marriage is David Scully, one of Steve's best friends, and his co-skipper and crew boss on the Cheyenne (formerly PlayStation and they co-skippered other boats for years prior)... hope Steve is found and all is well, else God speed to a great man and adventurer...

Here's a pic from just after the world record for circumnavigating the earth in 58 days (2004)- That's David next to Steve with the orange...

Thoughts to his family and friends at this difficult time.

-Tad
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I don't really know who is a pilot or aircraft owner here and if any of you have lost a close friend in an accident.

There is, however, a sort of unwritten pilot's etiquette which is especially true for sport/aerobatic flyers -

You do not speculate publicly on the fate of someone missing until facts are available. If an accident is the case, and especially if a fatality results, most pilots are very reluctant to claim bad judgement, pilot error, etc. in public about one of their own.

I had the unfortunate experience of losing two good friends in Okla. City years ago when I belonged to an aerobatic group - Dave H***** and Bob B***** (in separate accidents). So, believe me when I say this: let's hang on to reasonable hope while we can and avoid the speculation - which serves no useful purpose. If the worst comes to pass, lets be careful where the blame is laid. And please spare us from some non-flying opinionator saying that nobody should fly in dangerous little planes, climb mountatins, drive Ferraris, etc. etc. etc.

Very sincerely,

James

PS, I editied out part of the names, but these were real guys - one was my next door neighbor, the other a business associate.

 

I don't think anyone is judging here, we're all hoping for a happy ending to this story!

 

An unwritten rule about an etiquette is hard to pass on. This thread is miles better than the "Hogan kid injures friend" thread because Mr. Fossett seems to be a good guy and he wasn't hurting anyone and didn't intend to endanger anyone.

If we can't comment or shouldn't comment on this one tragedy, then we shouldn't comment on any.

It hits close to you so a public service announcement seems fitting for you but what about people on this board that have family members only in memory due to automobile collisions? People can imagine flying planes just as they can imagine how that Supra would react when it was spinning and crashing. A pilots license is harder and more expensive to come by, let alone earning the right to fly with all of the study and skill but people speculate about space shuttle problems too.

Speculating is always kind of lame. Some people want to be first with their comments or side on the vast odds that "whatever" actually did happen, just so they can be right or feel "in the know". You'll never stop that and it isn't disrespectful { I doubt anyone feels good about this or hopes for a tragic ending} but the talk is just non-productive.

If this internet forum was as strict as "cars only" or "etiquette happy" an Off Topic section wouldn't even exist.

This post isn't meant to be disrespectful to you but it most likely is so I apologize to you in advance James.

 

No problem, you put it into other words pretty much like I was thinking. Maybe I do have a little baggage here because of my friends, and of course I happened to own one of these planes - it looked just like the red and white picture posted above.

Especially you are right about playing of the big lottery of being the first to publish the "in the know" speculation. The other point you make is well-taken: Mr. Fossett was not recklessly endangering the general public, breaking the law, or being a jerk in any of the remarkable endeavors that he accomplished - unlike the stupid street racing incidents we see from time to time.

I will have to say that this forum has faced several fatal or near-fatal Ferrari accidents and almost always did so with a lot of respect and dignity.

I am just watching and hoping for the best -

James

 

Like all of us, I'm hoping for the best. Mere speculation, but while we wait for news, here are two ideas: Carrying those extra fuel tanks, Steve wouldn't have attempted any aerobatics. Why? Possible CG issues and, more importantly, the possibility of the fuel tanks shifting around and interfering with the controls. More than one accident has been caused in tandem seating aircraft when something has accidentally fallen against and/or blocked the stick during flight. That may have happened here. A second idea (and I'm completely serious) is that he may have ventured into an area where he wasn't welcome. This may have invited a friendly escort to a certain facility where he may be interrogated for a few days before being released. This happened to an F-111 pilot friend of mine back in the 80's in the same area. Sure would be nice if that's all that's happened. Showing up in a few days with some "engine problem" story would be a lot better than the alternative. Oh, he was flying a nice plane...I have a Citabria 7GCBC - love it.

 

Good for you, sir. Mine was a lowly 7ECA, but still a lot of fun. (&not at all boring, like somebody tried to say) I did get quite a bit of stick time in a Super Decathlon 180hp with spades, though - my insurance company requested that I take an aerobatics course because they knew I was going to try it myself anyway. I too doubt that aerobatics would be attempted with loose things in the cockpit.

BTW - (and off this subject for just a moment; without speculation) - you are so right about the danger of jamming that rear stick. Do you remember the incident of the high-time bush pilot in Alaska who was going to ferry his friend's plane about 20 miles back to their home field? He forgot that the rear belt was looped around the rear stick as a form of wind gust lock? He had the misfortune of taking off momentarily with full up elevator and no ailerons...did not hurt him very badly (fortunately), but it sure made a mess of his buddy's plane.

I am still watching the news sites, haven't seen anything except for Branson calling for calm and hoping for the best...

James

 

" Fossett May Have Faced Tricky Winds

As the search for Fossett dragged into a second day Wednesday with some false leads but no sign of the 63-year-old aviator or his plane, some veteran pilots speculated he may have fallen victim to the treacherous and sometimes deadly Sierra Nevada winds that squeeze through the narrow canyons.

"There's been times when I've been flying in the wind and my blood turns cold," said Adam Mayberry, a private pilot and former spokesman for the Reno-Tahoe International Airport"

"Fossett always wears a Breitling Emergency wristwatch that allows pilots to turn a knob and immediately signal their location, said Granger Whitelaw, a fellow pilot and a co-founder of the Rocket Racing League. But no such signal was activated."

"Wind gusts in the area can whip up without warning from any direction, with sudden downdrafts that can drag a plane clear to the ground. Passengers flying even on commercial airliners between Las Vegas and Reno know to keep their seat belts fastened for a ride that is never smooth."

http://ap.google.com/article/ALeqM5h4Tt3Ok0yMNfSsatpddlmScxyEiQ

 

i just saw this. i am in Aerospace. perhaps he had an ELT? i hope he is ok.



michael

 

It's been over a week now and the guy might as well have just disappeared into thin air. They've been using high-tech equipment, not to mention military involvement and now NORAD, that could find just about anyone(except dead guy's with dyed beards occasionally staring in videos )

Something just seems strange about this right from the start...... Anyone seen any wacky conspiracy stuff on it?

Here's one:

OPINION: THEY ARE *NOT* LOOKING FOR FOSSETT, HE IS NOT MISSING, THEY KNOW EXACTLY WHERE HE IS.... THEY ARE USING HIM AS A COVER STORY... THEY ARE LOOKING FOR A MISSING 150 KILOTON NUKE!

http://www.rumormillnews.com/cgi-bin/forum.cgi?read=109306

 

Somebody has contracted with Geoeye, who has a private imaging satellite that can take imagery as needed on a for-cost basis (e.g., Dubai when building their crazy islands).

Amazon.com has a framework for showing little segments of this vast imagery to people who can inspect and flag them if something seems like it merits further investigation (e.g., crash wreckage). It's their "Mechanical Turk" framework. They've added an entry for humans to inspect the recent imagery from Geoeye.

I logged on and inspected 50 images last night (wanted to do my part) but nothing noteworthy in the images. However, I have no doubt that all the images were first passed through recognition algorithms first (e.g., like scientists working in AI and pattern recognition would design) to spot anything obvious. By now it is clear to me that that angle has not worked. Which is surprising, frankly.

http://www.mturk.com/mturk/welcome

 

The old saying is correct, 'when you are looking for something you will never find it'.

For him to have survived a crash then die of dehydration or starvation would be tragic. I hope there will be a better conclusion to his latest adventure.

 

In my opinion if he had survived a crash landing he would have tried to build a fire.

No fire.

No radio signal.

No real hope.

Rest in peace Steve.

 

Alien abduction.

 

+1. It's only logical.

 

Indubitably!

 

It's happened before: http://www.ufoevidence.org/cases/case24.htm

 

Earth to Steve, you out there? I know this isn't headline news anymore but I can't imagine that your little plane is that hard to find, right? Despite what the Fed's are telling you to do please check in, we're a little worried.

 

Just heard that they have declared an end to active searching. Let's all hope he simply found Galt's Gulch and decided to stay...

 

This is strange. How the hell can they not find the plane with that intensity of search? What happened to the search beacon?

 

Good question. They get activated automatically when there is any kind of an impact. There is something up with this.

 

Nevada is a big place. It's not all desert - he could have crashed into a mountain or mountainous area. The wreckage may be VERY hard to spot from the air. As for the transponder, well, if he hit the side of a mountain at 200mph, I doubt it would still be transmitting.

Personally I have a beef with these people. Its one thing to want to explore new frontiers, but he was not accomplishing anything of any value other than self-aggrandizement. Who is going to pay for all those people participating in the search? I hope his estate gets a bill they end up having to pay. I hope no non-self-inflicted emergencies or law enforcement efforts were diminished as a result of this guys idiocy.