Comments on: Steve Fossett ID, cash, jacket found near Mammoth Lakes, California. Hoax or real?

By: glenn

glenn — Fri, 06 Mar 2009 06:24:54 +0000

A camper who believes he saw Steve Fossett’s plane moments before he slammed into a Sierra mountainside says headwinds were so strong that day that the plane appeared to be “standing still,” according to a federal report released Thursday on the 2007 crash.

The report by the National Transportation Safety Board says the unidentified camper and his companions watched the plane struggle at an altitude of about 11,500 feet as strong winds blew out of the southwest.

“It looked like it was standing still due to the wind,” the report said.

The fact-finding report does not include a cause of the crash, but outlines facts discovered during the investigation, including reports of strong winds and previous problems with the plane.

It also says that radar tracked a plane as it flew south along the mountain range at 9:07 a.m. It ends abruptly at 9:27 a.m. near the crash site.

Among the discoveries amid the shattered wreckage was the emergency release handle for the 63-year-old pilot’s door, with the locking pin still in place, the NTSB said.

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,505786,00.html

By: glenn

glenn — Tue, 04 Nov 2008 00:09:19 +0000

The bones found near the Fossett crash site confirmed they are Steve Fossett’s remains.

Mr. Fossett’s widow, Peggy Fossett, released a statement thanking authorities for their work. “I am hopeful that the DNA identification puts a definitive end to all of the speculation surrounding Steve’s death. This has been an incredibly difficult time for me, and I am thankful to everyone who helped bring closure to this tragedy,” she said.

By: JCH

JCH — Fri, 31 Oct 2008 12:27:37 +0000

I had several brief phone conversations with him. He used to call the balloon factory to speak with one of the owners, and I would say, “They ain’t here.”

The thing I remember the best, he and his partners sold one of our owners an ultralight. It came in crates. Our owner immediately put it together and, without instruction, tried to take off. He crashed into the trees at the end of the runway. I told Fossett what happened and he let a out string of adjectives.

Nice guy. He died doing what he truly loved to do.

By: glenn

glenn — Fri, 31 Oct 2008 11:45:40 +0000

They also found his drivers license, tennis shoes as well.

By: FoolsGold

FoolsGold — Fri, 31 Oct 2008 08:27:36 +0000

Large human bones found a half mile from crash site.
Although there is considerable doubt now as to whether the plane was inverted at impact, it is clear that there was no survival of impact forces. Bones were dispersed by animals. Recently discovered bones are large enough to provide copious quantities of dna unlike the four earlier discovered bone fragments which were forensically inconclusive.
Considerable speculation as to the route a very experienced pilot would have taken to approach the crash site.

By: FoolsGold

FoolsGold — Thu, 09 Oct 2008 01:23:01 +0000

Preliminary speculation: Carbon Monoxide intoxication from cracked muffler exhaust being vented into the cabin by the cabin heater. Would account for inverted attitude, sudden loss of piloting skills by an excellent pilot with massive numbers of hours and considerable currency, reports of noisy operation and initial indications of low power settings on throttle and cruise pitch setting on pitch control in a situation clearly calling for all the climbing power he could muster.

By: FoolsGold

FoolsGold — Sat, 04 Oct 2008 19:11:43 +0000

Impact forces were certainly too great for survival, though impact was not at such a steep angle as early descriptions implied. Troublesome winds and cloud formations were after he would have already been missing.

By: Paul

Paul — Sat, 04 Oct 2008 14:44:14 +0000

No, they said he slammed straight into a rock face…killed on impact….and there were some pretty good thunderheads according to several accounts I saw…not where he took off, but where he crashed.

By: FoolsGold

FoolsGold — Sat, 04 Oct 2008 04:05:10 +0000

Fairly benign winds and clouds that day.
Perhaps a bird strike.
Might also account for debris being distant from the site: not animal distribution as much as wind blown at altitude when canopy suffered loss of integrity due to a bird strike?

By: glenn

glenn — Fri, 03 Oct 2008 00:05:00 +0000

Wow…when I was a kid I had a neighbor who crashed his plane and he survived after a few days in the woods with body temp in the 80′s…he was really really messed up but his co-pilot didn’t survive and was just demolished from the force of the impact.

His story even ended up in Readers Digest some years later but I can remember waiting to hear what happened and feeling really down when his 240Z was returned from the airport to his house.

Hopefully the family can close this chapter and move on.