CAP Aircraft Searching for Steve Fossett

[calguy]

I see today where CAWG found a missing PA28 in the California high desert.  The internet is saying the Air Force Col. flying the plane was shot down because he knew Steven Fossett was shot down when he entered Area 51 and was about to go public. 

[SarDragon]

WAIT! It's not April yet!

[SoCalCAPOfficer]

If he was shot down it was with a sling shot.   The plane was remarkably intact for a plane that was "shot down".  It was also down within several hundred feet of Interstate 15 in the Cajon Pass.   You would have thought they would have a least waited till he got over the pass and into the desert.   

Its unbelievable the stories and theories that show up on the internet after any tragedy.   My condolences to his family who has to put up with this nonsense.

[PHall]

The gentleman was yet another victim of the stupid practice of "Scud Running".
You would figure that a Air Force Lieutenant Colonel would be smart enough to not do stupid things like that.

[SARPilotNY]

CBS national news reported that none of the found crashes during the Fossett search were previously unlocated crashes.  The story was based on a son who's father went missing 40 years ago on a flight from Oakland to Reno.  He has never been located.

[SARPilotNY]

The gentleman was yet another victim of the stupid practice of "Scud Running".
You would figure that a Air Force Lieutenant Colonel would be smart enough to not do stupid things like that.

I saw the video on CNN & FOX. Amazing that an aircraft could crash between a major interstate freeway and not be seen.  Did CAP air or ground find it or was it a passing motorist?  Looked like it was right next to the freeway lanes.

[PHall]

The gentleman was yet another victim of the stupid practice of "Scud Running".
You would figure that a Air Force Lieutenant Colonel would be smart enough to not do stupid things like that.

I saw the video on CNN & FOX. Amazing that an aircraft could crash between a major interstate freeway and not be seen.  Did CAP air or ground find it or was it a passing motorist?  Looked like it was right next to the freeway lanes.

According to the mission closing traffic, a CAP UDF team found the site by following the ELT signal.
The visability there at the summit of Cajon Pass that night was about 100 feet or so.
Which is not unusual when there is a storm in the LA Basin like there was that night.

Many aircraft try to scud run the pass during bad weather and the unlucky ones either hit the ground like this guy or hit the high tension power lines that criss-cross the pass.
They lost a Life Flight MedEvac helicopter last winter when they hit the power lines returning to their base in pretty much the same kind of weather conditions.

[RiverAux]

This is a link to an article on other crashes seen during the Fosset search. [http://news.rgj.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20071021/NEWS/710210341.  Apparently we are down to only 1 "new old crash and it seems like everyone is passing the buck on trying to find out about it.  Also talks about federal records policies at AF and NTSB. 

[sardak]

Here is an article about the Fossett search in the latest National Geographic Adventure.  Quotes from a couple of CAP members but the article is about the search in general, not just CAP.  The writer was not overly impressed by what he saw and heard.

http://www.nationalgeographic.com/adventure/news/steve-fossett.html

Mike

[mikeylikey]

hmmm...

[NIN]

Anybody see the 4-color glossy marketing thingy that CAP put out about the Fossett search?

Wish they'd spend that much time on the other 6 missions....

[fyrfitrmedic]

 Looks like someone's resumed the search:

CARSON CITY, Nev. - The hunt for multimillionaire adventurer Steve Fossett, who vanished in September after taking off by plane from a remote Nevada ranch, is resuming now that snow has melted in rugged mountains where he may have crashed.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080611/ap_on_re_us/fossett_search

[♠SARKID♠]

I wouldn't hesitate to think that with Fossett's fame, there will always be someone looking for him.  Even if its a couple out hiking in the Nevada mountains who jokingly say "Hey, maybe we'll find Steve Fossett!"

[PHall]

Anybody know if the reward is still being offered?

Nothing like some free cash to keep people interested!

[flynd94]

Phil,

Yes the reward is still there.  He will be found, someday, by some random hiker/backpacker.  We both know those mountains hold a lot of secrets.

KS

[Eclipse]

Apparently they some are going to kick the search back off:

http://ukpress.google.com/article/ALeqM5gilG8yCSuNbAGgwpZvbMC078HF6Q

Search to resume for Fossett

"...The hunt for multi-millionaire adventurer Steve Fossett is to resume now that snow has melted in the rugged mountains where he may have crashed.

Fossett vanished in September after taking off by plane from a remote Nevada ranch.

The search will not match last year's, which covered about 20,000 square miles and involved a small air force of private and military planes, along with ground searchers and hi-tech equipment.

This time, two teams of volunteers will hike through a smaller area where the 63-year-old was last seen.

One team will be headed by Simon Donato, a Canadian geologist, and Robert Hyman, an investor and alpinist from Washington DC, will lead another..."

and his estate is not interested in contributing to the search costs:

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/n/a/2008/06/10/state/n173803D59.DTL

Fossett estate: No money for search costs

(06-10) 17:38 PDT CARSON CITY, CA (AP) --

The estate of Steve Fossett won't contribute funds to help pay Nevada's $687,000 tab in the unsuccessful search for the famed adventurer last fall, a state panel was told Tuesday.

The Board of Examiners was advised by Josh Hicks, Gov. Jim Gibbons' legal counsel, that the estate wrote the governor last month to say the state doesn't have a valid claim. The contribution had been suggested by Jerry Hafen, Nevada's public safety director.

The disclosure followed numerous questions from Secretary of State Ross Miller, a board member, about the search costs. The panel ended up delaying action on a plan to seek nearly $486,000 from a contingency fund overseen by state lawmakers.

The letter from the estate says that Peggy Fossett, Fossett's widow, while "very grateful" for the search, spent more than $1 million of her own money to help fund private efforts to find Fossett.

The letter says the state can still file a claim if it wants, but Ben Kieckhefer, Gibbons' press secretary, said that wasn't likely.

Fossett, declared legally dead in mid-February by a judge, had taken off Sept. 3 from Barron Hilton's Flying M Ranch in western Nevada. The hotel magnate later voluntarily sent the state a check $200,000 to cover some of the search costs.

[mikeylikey]

The letter from the estate says that Peggy Fossett, Fossett's widow, while "very grateful" for the search, spent more than $1 million of her own money to help fund private efforts to find Fossett.

Fine....this sets precedence that anyone who has over 1 million dollars can search for their own family members with private contractors.  Perhaps CAP should start charging the wealthy for searches as well.

If I were the State and knew she was providing 1 million dollars toward private search enterprises, I would have called off all state resources day 1.  Sounds harsh, but they also need to worry about being fiscally sound with tax payers money.  All that Cash they spent for 1 (one) person is outrageous.  Anyone of us, would likely get a one day search with 1/100th of the resources used on Fossett.

[cnitas]

Anyone of us, would likely get a one day search with 1/100th of the resources used on Fossett.

I have participated in 3 searches lasting a week or more in MD over my years in CAP.  None of them were celebs.  Except in 1 case,  I do not ever recall having a search called off without finding the target, and that was after a 5 day search, and due to weather.

While the resources were smaller than the Fosett search, we regularly search for much longer than 1 day.

In fact a CAP member crashed (not in a CAP A/C) about 2 years ago in MD and the search lasted 5 days before he was found.

[Flying Pig]

I'd be interested to know where they planning on looking, and what areas of snow pack they are talking about.  I may be wrong, but I don't think Fossett was flying his Decathalon at 12,000.  
In this area, there is little to no snow pack in September.  June July and August pretty much take care of that.  The snow doesn't start falling up there until about mid to late Dec or January.  We'll see.

[RiverAux]

CAP's contribution to the search effort was not terribly unusual.  What was unusual was all the other state resources that went into it -- the state dug their own grave there.