News - Fossett plane found, sheriff says

(CNN) -- Authorities found the plane Steve Fossett was flying when he disappeared last year, but they have not found the remains of the millionaire adventurer, the Madera County, California, sheriff said Thursday. "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. He further said that searchers found no remains and the crash appeared "so severe I doubt someone would've walked away from it." The sheriff's department said Wednesday that wreckage was spotted during an aerial search of the area where hikers had discovered identification with the missing aviator's name.
The National Transportation Safety Board said Thursday it was dispatching investigators to the crash site.
"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," an NTSB statement released Thursday said.
Hours before Wednesday's aerial sighting, hikers found cash and identification cards with Fossett's name. Watch police chief describe hiker's discovery »
"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.
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Schienle said a sweatshirt was found as well.
A Chicago probate court judge declared Fossett dead in February.
Fossett was last seen the morning of September 3, 2007, when he took off from the Flying-M Ranch outside Minden, Nevada. He said he was taking a pleasure flight over the Sierra Nevada Mountains in a single-engine plane.
He was carrying a bottle of water and had no parachute.
He had planned to fly over the Nevada desert for two to three hours and was expected to return for lunch at the ranch, owned by hotel magnate Barron Hilton.
At 3 p.m., when he had not returned, a search began that ultimately included thousands of volunteers, hundreds of officials and dozens of aircraft that scoured an area more than twice the size of New Jersey.
The search was officially suspended on October 2, 2007.

Fossett made his money in the financial services industry, but is renowned for his daredevil exploits, which include non-stop, round-the-world trips aboard a balloon, a fixed-wing plane and a boat.
He was the first person to circle the globe solo in a balloon, accomplishing the feat in 2002, and he was the first to fly a plane around the world solo without refueling, which he did in 2005. He also set world records in round-the-world sailing and cross-country skiing.

Source: talkdelaware