Mr. Fossett is MISSING !

[TJones]

In case you have been living under a rock for the past 3 days. The worlds current NUMBER 1 aviator is missing, and presumed to have landed or crash landed in the Nevada desert somewhere.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20070906/wl_af...erBgYOjbxVH2ocA

I was just wondering...... it has been 3 days now, and no sign of him or the plane. Keep in mind that this guy has a Brietling with a homing device in it, and his plane has one of the best GPS tracking units on the market in it. How long do you think the State Govt. there will allow rescue resources to be used to locate him ?

Edited September 6, 2007 by TJones

[Jeebus]

You forgot to add: "Who cares?" to the poll.

[MidtownCoog]

As a pilot and human, I cared the first time I heard about it.

I am over it. I know if I crashed I'd barely make the fn news.

[Guest Marty]

I am pretty sure that Jeebus means that it's not Houston related unless..........

Edited September 6, 2007 by Marty

[Vertigo58]

I prefer the who cares option.

People these days pull stunts like this for attention and especially to write a book or have a movie made about them.

When journalists get maimed or shot, why fret? They are going for an Emmy for best TV Journaist awards. Serious. That is why they are out there in the 1st place. Its all about fame and fortune. No price is too high. Not much different from seagulls begging for food. People call them scavenger's right.

This kind of reminds me of that couple that would pet wild bears, they were found all ripped to shreads days later in a pile of blood & gore, and even worse had recorded the whole massacre on some tapes that they had going live.(themselves being eaten alive)

Now that's reality TV folks! Wow! >

[crunchtastic]

I didn't care about this story until I rode the elevator at work yesterday with an SVP of actuary and SVP of underwriting and found out this guy not only has his property/casualty (de planes!!) covered through one of our aviation subsidiaries, but a Whole Freaking Lot of Verrrrrry Expensive life insurance.

And the GPS device never returned a signal, which it should have, if the plane goes down.......nothing like overexcited actuaries spreading gossip.

[TJones]

Mr. Fossett has been declared dead finally. Still no body found. I find it a little hasty to declare him after 5 months. Sounds like somebody needs that insurance money BADLY ? I am sure someone will stumble across him in a year or three, or at least his bones.

Edited February 16, 2008 by TJones

[citykid09]

Mr. Fossett has been declared dead finally. Still no body found. I find it a little hasty to declare him after 5 months. Sounds like somebody needs that insurance money BADLY ? I am sure someone will stumble across him in a year or three, or at least his bones.

In todays world you mean to tell me that they can't find that plane? They don't have the technology? Is there no tracking device on his plane? Satalite can't find him?

[Ross]

My guess the businesses he owned needed him declared dead so they can move forward. Nothing like a missing owner to make it really hard to do business, especially f he had n't delegated certain duties. From all accounts, he and his wife had been married for decades, and had enough money for her to live on.

[houstonmacbro]

In todays world you mean to tell me that they can't find that plane? They don't have the technology? Is there no tracking device on his plane? Satalite can't find him?

I was thinking the same thing. I know they have GPS and could at least track his last known whereabouts. Something sounds really odd about this whole thing.

[sevfiv]

His wife, Peggy, had filed her petition in a court in Chicago to allow the process of executing Mr Fossett's will to begin.

"It was very sad," said Michael LoVallo, Mrs Fossett's attorney. "At first she hoped and sort of envisioned him walking down the road the next day with another story to tell.

"But as the days went on, she realized it wasn't going to happen as it had on other occasions when he'd had close calls."

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml...wfossett116.xml

[memebag]

I was thinking the same thing. I know they have GPS and could at least track his last known whereabouts. Something sounds really odd about this whole thing.

GPS tells a plane where it is; it doesn't tell anyone else where it is. It sounds like he was outside any air traffic control area, so there's no reason to think his position was being tracked.

[TJones]

The man owned and was wearing a Breitling with a GPS transponder in it ! He should have been found unless he was abducted by Aliens, and is no longer on this planet.

Edited February 19, 2008 by TJones

[houstonmacbro]

The man owned and was wearing a Breitling with a GPS transponder in it ! He should have been found unless he was abducted by Aliens, and is no longer on this planet.

That's what I'm saying! Or unless he doesn't WANT to be found?

[Vertigo58]

That's what I'm saying! Or unless he doesn't WANT to be found?

He is probably hanging out with Jimmy Hoffa.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jimmy_Hoffa

[memebag]

The man owned and was wearing a Breitling with a GPS transponder in it ! He should have been found unless he was abducted by Aliens, and is no longer on this planet.

Do you mean the one that doesn't activate until you unscrew the cap and extend the antenna and has a maximum range of 100 miles? And the same one that, according to his wife, he wasn't wearing when he disappeared?

Edited February 20, 2008 by memebag

[houstonmacbro]

Did anyone look at the direction he took off? He couldn't have just dropped off the face of the earth?

[memebag]

Did anyone look at the direction he took off?

Yes.

He couldn't have just dropped off the face of the earth?

No. But the earth is big.

[OkieEric]

Wreckage found - I'm sure everyone has seen this by now. Link

I wonder if the separation of his ID/sweatshirt from the plane means he survived the actual crash itself? I guess there are other explanations (circumstances of the crash, animal activity?, etc), but nothing like pure speculation before the facts are divulged.

[Mr. Chenevert]

Wreckage found - I'm sure everyone has seen this by now. Link

I wonder if the separation of his ID/sweatshirt from the plane means he survived the actual crash itself? I guess there are other explanations (circumstances of the crash, animal activity?, etc), but nothing like pure speculation before the facts are divulged.

He could have ejected before the crash... not even sure if his plane was capable of that or not. Just adding to the speculation.

[Mark F. Barnes]

He was flying a AviaBellanca Super Decathlon, which structurally looks like the common Cessna 172, (Top Wing type aircraft), ejection would be out of the question. He could bail from the cabin door with a conventional chute, but being a pilot myself and knowing the type of pilot he was, he more that likely tried to glide it in, obviously unsuccessfully by the wreckage. However if you can walk away from a landing it is a successful one. It's one of those things we may never know. A lot of carnivores in that area. Great Pilot, odds caught up with him. It's a part of the deal when you take it on. Every time I climb in my 402C, and tell my wife goodbye, I know fully that it could be the last time, you just prepare properly, keep your equipment up, and use your head. My 402C is a 1983 model, that has many hours on it, but I keep up the proper maintenance on it and don't cut corners. Cutting corners will get you killed.