Plane found and its not Steve Fossett, but...

[Smithsonia]

Captalkers;
It may be of interest that a plane was found today. It was found in the same general area as the Fossett search was conducted. Meaning, that this plane that has been lost since 2001, represents an example of how very lost a plane can get.
AND, how very difficult a search can be. I hope this ends some of the useless speculation as to Mr. Fossett's search results. Please see the press release below. 

Sep 23, 7:09 AM ET

SAN BERNARDINO, Calif. - Authorities believe wreckage found on a mountainside in the San Bernardino National Forest is the remains of a plane missing for seven years.
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The disappearance of 24-year-old pilot Daniel Katz on June 3, 2001, spurred one of the most extensive and high-tech searches in the area's history. Sheriff's spokeswoman Arden Wiltshire said Monday the tail number on the Piper Archer II confirms it was the plane Katz rented.

The wreckage was found on a steep mountainside north of Rancho Cucamonga near Lytle Creek. Wiltshire says fragments of human remains also were found near the debris on Sunday and will be tested to determine the identity.

Katz was flying back to a La Verne airport from Perris after a skydiving trip had been canceled.

[sparks]

I don't know how many lost aircraft are still on the books but it has to be substantial. Remote/rough terrain along with dense tree stands or multiple lakes can make the search difficult to impossible. It's the reason many of those lost aircraft are found by hunters and hikers. If Fossett is found it will probably be by accident not the result of an organized search effort, sad but true.

[PHall]

Captalkers;
It may be of interest that a plane was found today. It was found in the same general area as the Fossett search was conducted. Meaning, that this plane that has been lost since 2001, represents an example of how very lost a plane can get.
AND, how very difficult a search can be. I hope this ends some of the useless speculation as to Mr. Fossett's search results. Please see the press release below. 

Sep 23, 7:09 AM ET

SAN BERNARDINO, Calif. - Authorities believe wreckage found on a mountainside in the San Bernardino National Forest is the remains of a plane missing for seven years.
ADVERTISEMENT

The disappearance of 24-year-old pilot Daniel Katz on June 3, 2001, spurred one of the most extensive and high-tech searches in the area's history. Sheriff's spokeswoman Arden Wiltshire said Monday the tail number on the Piper Archer II confirms it was the plane Katz rented.

The wreckage was found on a steep mountainside north of Rancho Cucamonga near Lytle Creek. Wiltshire says fragments of human remains also were found near the debris on Sunday and will be tested to determine the identity.

Katz was flying back to a La Verne airport from Perris after a skydiving trip had been canceled.

No, it wasn't close to the area. It's about 300 miles from the area. Terrain is totally different.

This crash here was only about 50 miles away from downtown Los Angeles. That first ridgeline snares a lot of airplanes.

Trust me on this, I live about 20 miles from the crash site.

[Smithsonia]

PHall;
in the same general area... I'm stating that it is the SAME GENERAL AREA. I'm quite familiar with both specific areas. The location being Western territory with large expanses of open spaces, mountains, valleys, hills, rocky terrain. In this I'm taking into account the we have a national audience, not local. The Southern point of the primary Fossett search is about 100-125 miles from where the referenced plane in the story was found.

I appreciate the need for specificity. BUT, the point is not different. Except as often happens... drift proceeds.

Take it as you like.

[ol'fido]

Anybody know of a single online database that lists aircraft that are still missing along with known info about them? Also, is there a database giving the locations of known crash sites?

[Smithsonia]

Olefido;
There are a number of sites that cover this subject on the web. Here's one:
http://coloradowreckchasing.tripod.com/Maps/maps_page.html

This site is an incomplete website and just includes pix and accounts from actual sites which this group has investigated, after the fact.

There seems to be a growing group of people who enjoy the out-doors and putting crash-sites, history, hiking, and archeology together in one weekend hobby/adventure.

I spent the last 3 weekends bringing out various pieces of Rocky Mountain Airways Flight 217 on Buffalo Pass in Colorado, wrecked in 1978. This was the site of the largest single mission save in CAP history and the 30th anniversary is coming up in December. I just got back from a local air museum where we are building an exhibit for a reunion and commemoration. So things like this abound. You just gotta do a little research. Good luck.

[wingnut55]

ed

I think we are all gun shy to use th F word, however as a former college geography teacher I can say you are right both crashes are on the surface of the earth. but the area is vastly different. I am not a t liberty to discuss the exact location but the whole search history is a very interesting. It would be safe to say that this mission was not a CAP search, the Grid he was found in was a Sheriff run mission.   

[Smithsonia]

Dear CapTalkers;
From the Briefing I got on the Fossett search; the southern edge of the search was Lone Pine, CA. and west a little ways towards Bakersfield (not too Bakersfield -- towards Bakersfield). This accounting for full tanks, straight line flight, at economy cruise. SO -- Get out a map of the WHOLE Fossett search area. Check the map of the WHOLE search area. Take a look at the map of the WHOLE search area. Plot the Lone Pine to Bakersfield search line and calculate the distance between that and the crash found yesterday. Come up with your own number. Make yourself happy with that number. AND, some of you guys can argue about nothing about as well as anybody. Thanks for clarifying that point.