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‘Brotherhood’ searches for aviation adventurer

Posted: Thursday, September 06, 2007 9:19 AM

By Jack Chesnutt, NBC News Producer

MINDEN, Nev. -- Like the other two dozen pilots flying low and slow over the rough landscape of southern Nevada, John Morgan knows Steve Fossett. So, volunteering in this search is as natural as breathing.

"Oh, we're like a kind of brotherhood," said Morgan as he hugged a rugged canyon along the Walker River on Wednesday. "If he went down in this area, we could fly over it ten times and it would be tough to see."

VIDEO: Search continues for Fossett

Morgan is part of one of the biggest air searches in memory looking for traces of the small single-engine plane piloted by Fossett. The man who holds a fistful of aviation records took off from a near-by ranch Monday morning, and hasn't been seen or heard from since.

"I'd come out and help look for anyone in trouble, don't get me wrong. But helping another pilot is just something we do," said Morgan, who has known Fossett for more than 10 years. "He used to have a glider like mine, and we'd swap parts."

Hoping for the best
But as he slowed his Husky two-seater and squinted across a ravine in the steep Sierra Nevadas, the size of the task hits home. The search area is over 600 square miles and the wreckage of a small plane could be in an area the size of a basketball court. According to Maj. Cynthia Ryan of the Nevada Civil Air Patrol, it could take a week, even in ideal weather, to conduct a through search.

Technician Mike Todd helps American billionare and
SLIDESHOW: Fossett's feats
 
Five hundred miles away another pilot is following the news just as closely. Balloon pilot Merlin Sagon took Fossett on his first hot air balloon ride a dozen years ago. "Oh he loved it!" remembers Sagon. It was an experience that led Fossett to take balloon instruction from Sagon.

Now, as the hours continued mount since Fossett was last seen, Morgan re-fueled and headed back out to the search area. Sagon and the flying community can only hope for the best, "God, I hope he's okay."

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Comments

god we need to find this guy...cause the world can not afford to lose another white male billionaire!  

nic, bellingham wa (Sent Thursday, September 06, 2007 2:33 PM)

Why are all of these "Expert" and "Experienced" pilots crashing?

John Larson (Sent Thursday, September 06, 2007 7:05 PM)

During an air search of 50 miles of beach tidelines to find a drowning victim, we laid out a pair of jeans, a shirt, boots and a hat in a human form right on the swash line.  Several planes flew over at 500' and no-one noticed the clothes - - our law enforcement comrades were the spotters in the planes and they were sharp, well-trained folks.  The task these flyers have in a 600 sq mile, undefined desert environment is daunting to say the least.  Best wishes to the 'brotherhood' for quick success in their search.

Mark, Valencia, CA (Sent Thursday, September 06, 2007 8:45 PM)

Only the little people pay taxes.

Only the little people file flight plans.

JR (Sent Thursday, September 06, 2007 9:38 PM)

Hey..........

May God be with Fosset and all of those looking for him.

Jim

Jim McKee Mountain Home, Arkansas (Sent Thursday, September 06, 2007 10:00 PM)

Civil Air Patrol is a great organization. I'm a member and driving from Marin to Bishop to serve at the search base. We run dozens of flights a day searching for any sign of a crash or landing. Wish us luck.

Michael, Marin, CA (Sent Thursday, September 06, 2007 10:15 PM)

Why dont they try balloon spotters?

Jerry Crouch (Sent Thursday, September 06, 2007 10:59 PM)

I find it hard to believe that Fossett would have just jumped into an airplane and flown around without first having researched where he was going.  As experienced as he was, he would have had a plan, a list of places that he was probably interested in checking out before he left.  When I heard about the story I went on Google Earth to look for dry lakes in the area.  I wonder if he did the same before leaving.  Have the computers at the ranch been searched to see if he did indeed do research?  It seems to me from looking at Google Earth that the area to the southeast and east would have been a better choice for him to explore.  Most of it is military land, including highly sensitive areas like Tonopah and Area 51.  I think as a supplement to the grid search that's going to take two weeks or more to complete, a quicker approach might be to search around those dry lakes that would have been suitable for his land speed record attempt and around the bombing ranges and abandoned airfields to the southeast.

Luis Gil, Miami, Fl (Sent Thursday, September 06, 2007 11:20 PM)

I think they need to look around Humboldt Sink. I think he went in there and the plane is under water

David, LA, CA (Sent Friday, September 07, 2007 1:12 AM)

Hoping that Fosset will be found, this should be a lesson to all aviators...to file a flight plan no matter how short a flight may be. Not doing so costs time and money as well as danger for the searchers.
Filing a plan should certainly be made mandatory, no
exceptions!

Virg Roberts (Sent Friday, September 07, 2007 2:10 AM)

From all of us in Salina, Kansas home of Steve's world record non-stop flight around the world, we pray that he is found safe and sound. Our prayers are with you Steve!

John Hill, Salina, Kansas (Sent Friday, September 07, 2007 2:55 AM)

What a shame if he is lost. We only get a few true characters. He sould stick around and write those memoirs. Good hunting, fellows.

Dave Ebert, Cape Coral, Fl (Sent Friday, September 07, 2007 5:01 AM)

my thoughts are with Fossett. every morning and evening i look for news of him.  when i learned to fly in a cessna i saw my husband crashing the plane.
the fault lay in that the trainer pilot was cross with him for not arriving in time for his first solo party. i was furious too.  so dont part in anger ever.  he survived and did a solo again.  so i still hope for an experienced flyer to somehow survive a crash. a pity about no flight plan. keep looking please.  life is so precious; also he is quite young.
His family has not been mentioned.  why????????

annie johnson; somerset west, south africa (Sent Friday, September 07, 2007 6:15 AM)

My prayers go out to you and Mr.Fossett. Hopefully, you will find him safe and alive. May your searches be successful.

Margaret Anderson (Sent Friday, September 07, 2007 7:29 AM)

Why don't they conduct an intensive ground search of the entire 600sq miles and divide it into quadrants-

there should be enough personnel between national Guard, State and local police etc to cover each quadrant thoroughly-  The authorities should also use Native American trackers if available.
the airborne search is turning up nothing of significance and is unlikely to do so given the size of the aircraft and the terrain involved.

Jonathan O'neill, Dublin, Ireland (Sent Friday, September 07, 2007 7:42 AM)

elt's work on batteries if they are not replaced they are useless.if they are "hardwired to the air craft and the battery is smashed on impact they wont work.filing a flight plan or at least informing some one of your intentions is the only smart thing to do there is a saying amongst pilots "there are old pilots and bold pilots but no old bold pilots".

jim ruttan sarnia ontario canada (Sent Friday, September 07, 2007 7:55 AM)

It's hard to believe some of the cruel messages on this site...

People look for lost people who may be injured or in other danger. We help put out fires in strangers homes.  We make sure strangers get to medical care.  We go after trapped miners whom we have never met. Helping others in their time of need is something we do because we value others.  Thank you to all the wonderful people who help others, whether paid or volunteers.  You are proof that people can do great things.

Most of us read the stories of others in trouble and hope for a great outcome.  Just read that a 76 year old woman was found alive after 14 days & nights in the country.  She had a broken hip but was doing fairly well considering all that she had been through.  Why would anyone think differently about helping someone regardless of their financial status?

Surely his wealth doesn't matter to those who help - No one I know who regulary goes to help another in need first asks, "Are you a billionaire?"  

There's a person who might be alive and in trouble.  Thank you to all who think that people should help others when they need it.

Steve Temmermand, Arlington, VA (Sent Friday, September 07, 2007 7:58 AM)

I have followed steve in his adventures over the years and seen how he lives life to the fullest.I do hope that he is found alive and well , but the critical hours of this search are passing and with no sign of gps signals from his aircraft or personal devices one has to be opptomistic.I try to have a positive attitude most times ,so may god be with you steve for your plate is not full,you still have adventures to succeed at and make us proud

Chris Shaw marissa,illinois (Sent Friday, September 07, 2007 8:16 AM)

Steve Fossett is being portrayed as the "millionaire adventurer", which is misleading, at best, but more accurately, monumentally unfair.  Yes, he is a millionaire.  Yes, he is an adventurer, but most of all, what he is is an aviation pioneer.  His greatest adventures have been in the designing of the aircrafts he has piloted.  There is an incredible amount of time and hard work that goes into the development of such projects.  If anyone is going to pilot such an aircraft, who better than the person in charge of the project.  Incidentally, an experimental air craft is one that has not come off an assembly line.  I think it monumentally unfair for Steve to be portrayed as some kind of self-indulgent, overindulged nut.  He is an excellent pilot and aviation innovator.  We pray for his safe recovery.

Michael EAA, Overland Park, Ks (Sent Friday, September 07, 2007 9:07 AM)

Godspeed Steve...and all who are searching.

David Ivey, Fredericksburg, Virginia (Sent Friday, September 07, 2007 4:32 PM)

I'm a very inexperienced remote viewer but I would suggest that they check out lat. 117 long 37 around that area and up toward cactus peak.  Down by Beaty. A way south from where he took off.  Probably will amount to nothing but there have to be people in that area for want of something to do that might possibly find this guy.  Look for green grass possibly and a black dog.  

Susan, Eugene, Oregon (Sent Friday, September 07, 2007 8:04 PM)

Godspeed to Steve Fosset, the Civil Air Patrol and everyone else searching for him.  

Tom Indianapolis Indiana (Sent Saturday, September 08, 2007 1:50 PM)

As fellow aviators and friends, we all pray that Mr. Fossett is found soon.  Thanks to all of you who are directly involved in the search....be safe and, God willing, please get lucky!

Bill - EAA, Davenport, IA (Sent Saturday, September 08, 2007 2:31 PM)

nic from bellingham...your comment is completely out of line.  show some respect not only for steve, but for his family.  how would you feel if it were your family or friend that were missing?  you would not appreciate a comment such as the one you so insensitively posted.

john, los angeles (Sent Sunday, September 09, 2007 3:39 AM)

GOD SPEED!!!
Good Luck, Our prayers are with you all and the Foosett family.

Dennis Fagan (Sent Sunday, September 09, 2007 5:30 AM)

As a member of Verde Search and Rescue in Arizona, my heart goes out to Steve's waiting family and to the many volunteers searching for him. Without experiencing it, it is hard to imagine why one doesn't just fly over and discover a plane wreckage. Try dropping a coin in a sand dune; even if you know where you dropped it, recovering it is very difficult. Now imagine dropping a coin in a sand dune without having seen where it was dropped...that's how difficult it is to locate a plane wreckage in the wilderness. May God bless the family and the searchers as they strive for conclusion.

Jeanette Vandiver, Camp Verde, AZ (Sent Sunday, September 09, 2007 11:06 AM)

why don't they use our military satellites to look for him.the military satellites can spot a person walking so why could they not be used to search for his plane.

jerry dudley,greenville,nc (Sent Sunday, September 09, 2007 3:09 PM)

steve,  i  wish  you  a  safe  return,  we  still  need  your  inspirational  adventures,  God  bless  you and  your  family.

maryanne, new york city, NY. (Sent Sunday, September 09, 2007 3:46 PM)

why does it take a millonaire to go down to find all of these other unknown crash sites> these were the non-millionaires? POOR saps

whathechuck murray ky (Sent Monday, September 10, 2007 12:17 AM)

On my way back to Fort Collins,CO from Pagosa Springs on Monday about shortly after noon ,we saw a peculiar cloud of smoke just over Wolf Creek Pass. My gut feeling says check there or at least contact authorities from that area. It was a pretty woodsy area.

Cheryl Fort Collins Co (Sent Monday, September 10, 2007 2:37 PM)



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