1 uncharted wreck per day found while looking for Steve Fossett

[Liberal_in_LA]

No human remains have been found at any of the crash sites discovered so far. But that's not a surprise, given their age and that the region is populated by coyotes and mountain lions.

News of the old wrecks has prompted inquiries from people wondering if the pilots or passengers may be long-lost family members.

"We received an e-mail from (a Florida man) and he said 'You know, that could be the wreckage of my father's airplane and it dates back to 1964.' He said if we can possibly find out any more he'd be happy to know about it," Ryan said.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20070909/ap_on_re_us/steve_fossett

[MissB]

1. It is amazing, isn't it?

So many wreckages. Perhaps many old mysteries solved.

[Liberal_in_LA]

2. yeah, the families are lucky a rich man is lost, now they can have closure

[MissB]

3. I had that same cynical thought this morning.

:rofl:

[malaise]

6. Ditto

Is this taxpayers money being used here?

[MissB]

7. Probably, but I don't necessarily have a big problem with that.

Searchers around here are either volunteer or national guard. The national guard troops would be paid through our tax dollars, and I'd think that it would be considered good training.

There were nearly 60 volunteer searchers up on Mt. Hood this weekend, trying to find the bodies of two men who perished this winter. It was a big national story when they disappeared - the weather kept searchers from going up the mountain for a very long time, although they were able to recover another of their climbing partner's bodies from a snow cave.

Fossett was a fool not to have filed a flight plan, but I don't think that should keep searchers from trying to find him.

The searchers that found that 76 year old woman this week were on the clock and weren't technically supposed to be out searching that day. She managed to survive 13 days at the 5200 feet elevation with no food and very little clothing with temps that dipped into the 30s. The searchers found her on my tax $, and I'm okay with that.

I think Fossett will probably be searched for a lot longer than they looked for the old woman.

[Robson]

10. Ditto too

I don't have any problem with my tax money going to search and rescue. None of us will know when we might need their services. But I have a big problem when more of it is spent based upon the fame and celebrity. Fossett made some big mistakes in not filing a flight plan. A plan should be filed by anyone who ventures into mountain climbing or hiking or 4 wheeling, etc.

[Ghost in the Machine]

11. I read here last night that the Air Force was involved in the search

.. looking for the link...

[seemslikeadream]

9. How come they didn't find all those crash sites when they were looking for the last plane

that crashed?

[LeftCoast]

4. That area has notoriously treacherous weather conditions

My partner is a private pilot. He got stuck in that area for three days because the winds were so strong he couldn't climb high enough over the mountains to get out of the area.

Strong winds. Thermals. Rough terrain. High peaks. Not a good area to fly in much of the time.

[Liberal_in_LA]

5. Did your partner have a flight plan? Tell anyone where he was going?

[LeftCoast]

16. Yes. He always files a flight plan.

As a pilot he's very conservative. That's a good thing while flying...not so good while voting. :)

As I understand it though, Fossett was scouting out locations for a land-speed test. It would be hard for him to file a flight plan for that kind of flight.

[seemslikeadream]

8. After the nuke "s" are found they'll call off the search

just like Guiliani did when he found the gold after 9/11

[Vinca]

12. Didn't Fossett have a GPS gizmo or a cell phone on him so someone could

call to get a signal? Or is this an area where it wouldn't work? It seems really odd that such a wealthy man wouldn't have everything available. Tin foil hat time - do you suppose he wondered into Area 51 and was shot down?:tinfoilhat:

[Esra Star]

14. No, Get thicker tinfoil.

[Retired AF Dem]

15. I've been to Area 51 several times

There are no anti-aircraft missles or guns set up around the perimeter. I could use a few bucks, want to buy some tin foil? :)

[skids]

13. You can help online...

...even in the nude, if you so desire.

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=389&topic_id=1768136&mesg_id=1768136

[Xithras]

17. Undocumented doesn't always mean unknown.

I jokingly mentioned this to my stepdad (a longtime private pilot who lives in Henderson) on Friday, and he pointed out to me that many of these crashes aren't really mysteries at all. He reminded me that, up until the 1970's, the FAA didn't generally investigate or chart private plane crashes unless they killed someone or they happened near an urban area. Even when crashes did result in fatalities, in many cases the sites were so rural that recovery was done almost entirely by local law enforcement, and the FAA would simply base their crash reports on the local LEO reports. Since the LEO reports didn't usually include the coordinates of the plane, the wrecks were never mapped...even though they were technically "known wrecks". This started changing in the 1970's, and by the early 80's the FAA was investigating and mapping every crash site that resulted in any kind of casualty. The only unknown crash sites more recent than that would be truly "lost" sites, or crashes that resulted in no injuries, where the pilot and passengers got out on their own.

Some of these may be new discoveries of lost planes, and I hope this brings some closure to those families, but most of these will probably end up matching existing crash reports. The sites will simply appear on the maps now.

BTW, this type of thing really isn't all that unusual in mountainous areas. I know of four crash sites in Yosemite National Park alone, six in Sequoia National Park, and one on Mount Tamalpais (which is fairly well known). When planes go down in remote areas, the wreckage is usually left in place unless it presents an environmental or safety hazard.