Steve Fossett is Missing, this does not look good!
 

http://www.cnn.com/2007/US/09/04/fos...ing/index.html

RE: Steve Fossett is Missing, this does not look good!
 

Are they tracking an ELT?

RE: Steve Fossett is Missing, this does not look good!
 

Probably not, otherwise they most likely would have found the plane by now. Well, you never know, hopefully he is ok and will be found soon!!

RE: Steve Fossett is Missing, this does not look good!
 

I just love how they call it a "Citabria Super Decathlon". That's like saying "Ford Explorer Excursion".

A Citabria and a Super Decathlon are two different aircraft made currently by the American Champion Aircraft Company. They used to be made by Bellanca, but that was a long time ago.

Beave

RE: Steve Fossett is Missing, this does not look good!
 

The article also states the chutes are required for aerobatics. They aren't. If he was by himself he could legally do whatever he wanted. Super safe plane though. Maybe he had an engine failure and had to put it down? Bob

RE: Steve Fossett is Missing, this does not look good!
 

Plane Missing Since Monday
POSTED: 1:28 pm CDT September 4, 2007
UPDATED: 1:38 pm CDT September 4, 2007
RENO, Nev. -- A small plane carrying aviation adventurer Steve Fossett has been missing since Monday night, federal officials said Tuesday.
Fossett took off in the single engine Bellanca at 8:45 a.m. Monday at a private airstrip on a ranch south of Smith Valley in western Nevada and didn't return as scheduled.
A friend reported him missing, said Ian Gregor, a Federal Aviation Administration spokesman in Maryland.
"The Civil Air Patrol is looking for him. One problem is he doesn't appear to have filed a flight plan," Gregor told The Associated Press.


The search was being coordinated by the Air Force's Rescue Coordination Center in Langley, Va., Gregor said.
"They are working on some leads, but they don't know where he is right now," Gregor said.
In 2002, Fossett became the first person to fly around the world alone in a balloon. In two weeks, his balloon flew 19,428.6 miles around the Southern Hemisphere.
The record came after five previous attempts -- some of them spectacular and frightening failures.
Three years later, in March 2005, he became the first person to fly a plane solo around the world without refueling.
He and a co-pilot also claim to have set a world glider altitude record of 50,671 feet during a flight in August over the Andes Mountains.
Fossett, 63, of Beaver Creek, Colo., was inducted into the National Aviation Hall of Fame in July. He told a crowd gathered at the Dayton Convention Center in Ohio that he will continue flying.
"I'm hoping you didn't give me this award because you think my career is complete, because I'm not done," Fossett said.
Fossett had said he planned to go to Argentina in November in an effort to break a glider record.

RE: Steve Fossett is Missing, this does not look good!
 

Having flown both types extensively (the Citabria and Super Decathlon) I would say they are both very safe airframes. Unless he got caught in a mountain wave, it's interesting that there was not even a quick broadcast on Unicom saying something was amiss. No ELT is also interesting. Unless it's sitting at the bottom of a lake or the Decathlon did not have one I wonder why it did not go off.

The Super D is stressed for +6 and -5 G with a 50% unlimited load factor above that so I doubt any kind of turbulence would have caused it to come apart. It also does glide quite well dead stick so even if the engine quit, he could have glided for a while. Lastly, his personal pilot said he did not like aerobatics so that makes the whole scenario even more interesting.

Hopefully he is OK and just waiting to be picked up somewhere so let’s all hope...

Beave

RE: Steve Fossett is Missing, this does not look good!
 

This is a guy that has swam the english channel, ballooned around the world, flown more elaborate equipment than any of us could imagine. Obviously, his health is perfect. I just hope he is camping out somewhere waiting.

RE: Steve Fossett is Missing, this does not look good!
 

Respectfully; While it is a shame that steve is missing, What the heck does that have to do with model Jets,
Give me a clue please.

RE: Steve Fossett is Missing, this does not look good!
 

Nothing, but he is a respected figure in the Aviation community so I think this makes the thread ok.

If he is camping somewhere then why hasn't he fired off his ELT manually?? Or used the radio?? Having not heard from him by now makes me think that something bad has happened.

RE: Steve Fossett is Missing, this does not look good!
 

This topic is OK here, the relationship it has here is for our interest of planes and of aviation in general, and the camarderie that goes with it.

RE: Steve Fossett is Missing, this does not look good!
 

I hope that his ELT battery was fully charged.
The only thing that can kill the ELT is fire damage... I hope that didn't happen.

RE: Steve Fossett is Missing, this does not look good!
 

Well,

The media was reporting that it was a Bellanca, and not a Champion Super Decathlon. If that is the case, that may be the reason for no ELT transmission. I am not up to date with the current ELT configurations, but in the Bellanca versions, the ELT was mounted in the aft area with an external antenna mounted next to it. As happened to a good friend of mine who bought it in a 7GCBC Citabria, due to side loads on impact, the ELT separated from the antenna and thus, it could not transmit so it took us a couple of days to find the wreckage.

I don't know how the ELTs are mounted in Champion Decathlons so if it were that version, it could be different. It is also being reported that Steve is/was wearing a Breitiling ELT watch. The watch itself has a built in ELT that you manually activate by pulling out on the time setting knob that pulls out an antenna. It's pretty neat, but you have to be conscious to activate it.

Beave

http://www.breitling.com/orbiter/breit97/eng/emerg.html

RE: Steve Fossett is Missing, this does not look good!
 

As far as a Unicom call, in that area it would be a miracle if anyone heard it. He may have conked out due to some other reason and just went in hard. With satelights looking for elt signals it should have been picked up if activated. Would be ironic way for him to end up after all the risks he has taken and come back from. I keep hoping they will find him sitting by a campfire waiting on rescue. Bob

RE: Steve Fossett is Missing, this does not look good!
 

Interesting topic about the ELTs on 121.5 with the satellite recognition. I just got this from the FAA regarding exactly that. Seems in another year and a half the only chance you will have of being found is if someone flying over happens to be monitoring the frequency unless new equipment on 406 MHz is purchased. [:'(]

Here is the info in case anyone is interested in reading:

Termination of 121.5 MHz Beacons for Satellite Alerting is Coming Soon
Notice Number: NOTC0981


On 1 February 2009, the International Cospas-Sarsat [1] Organization (U.S. included) will terminate processing of distress signals emitted by 121.5 MHz Emergency Locator Transmitters (ELTs). This means that pilots flying aircraft equipped with 121.5 MHz ELTs after that date will have to depend on pilots of over flying aircraft and or ground stations monitoring 121.5 to hear and report distress alert signals, transmitted from a possible crash site.


Why is this happening?


Although lives have been saved by 121.5 MHz ELTs, the downside has been their propensity to generate false alerts (approximately 98 percent of all 121.5 MHz alerts are false), and their failure to provide rescue forces with timely and accurate crash location data. Both of which actually delay rescue efforts and have a direct effect on an individual's chance for survival. Rescue forces have to respond to all 121.5 MHz alerts to determine if they are real distress alerts or if they are being generated by an interferer, an inadvertent activation (by the owner) or equipment failure.


Is there an alternative?


Yes, the Cospas-Sarsat System (U.S. included) has been and will continue processing emergency signals transmitted by 406 MHz ELTs. These 5 Watt digital beacons transmit a much stronger signal, are more accurate, verifiable and traceable to the registered beacon owner (406 MHz ELTs must be registered by the owner in accordance with Federal Communications Commission (FCC) regulation). Registration allows the search and rescue authorities to contact the beacon owner, or his or her designated alternate by telephone to determine if a real emergency exists. Therefore, a simple telephone call often solves a 406 MHz alerts without launching costly and limited search and rescue resources, which would have to be done for a 121.5 MHz alert. For these reasons, the search and rescue community is encouraging aircraft owners to consider retrofit of 406 MHz ELTs or at a minimum, consider the purchase of a handheld 406 MHz Personal Locator Beacon (PLB) which can be carried in the cockpit while continuing to maintain a fixed 121.5 MHz ELT mounted in the aircraft's tail.


Remember, after February 1, 2009, the world-wide Cospas-Sarsat satellite system will no longer process 121.5 MHz alert signals. Pilots involved in aircraft accidents in remote areas will have to depend on pilots of over flying aircraft and or ground stations to hear emergency ELT distress signals. For further information concerning the termination of 121.5 MHz data processing visit www.sarsat.noaa.gov

BC

RE: Steve Fossett is Missing, this does not look good!
 

If the ELT does not survive the crash it does not matter what band it is on.

And what does Mr Fossett have to do with turbine powered model aircraft?

RE: Steve Fossett is Missing, this does not look good!
 

First of all, I hope he's ok and they find him, but I don't believe the media about him looking for a place to break the land speed record. The last two records that were set were at Bonneville Salt Flats and Black Rock Desert. Why didn't he just go there? I'm thinking he wanted to peak into Area 51 based on his flight path. Take a look at Google earth and I think you’ll see what I'm taking about. How's that for a conspiracy theory??? [X(]

RE: Steve Fossett is Missing, this does not look good!
 

We've probably got some of the best SAR people on the planet here in Nevada. I still have hope.

RE: Steve Fossett is Missing, this does not look good!
 

got the same watch , problem is if you are in a rocky inveroment you are lost..
also the range is VERY limited.

RE: Steve Fossett is Missing, this does not look good!
 

Someone said that He Climed Switzerland's: Matterhorn???

RE: Steve Fossett is Missing, this does not look good!
 

Yes, its a mountain.