blog.area51.org

Speculation on the fate of adventuring millionaire Steve Fossett has largely fallen out of the mainstream media. To put it bluntly, they’ve moved on. Branson sounded the deathknell, and the swarming vultures went off in pursuit of meatier carrion.

But today news came that Peggy Fossett, Steve’s widow, has petitioned the Cook County circuit court (Chicago, IL, USA) to declare him dead so that his assets can be disbursed now that three months have passed since he went missing.

This is not trivial news. It basically means that the family has given up all hope of finding Steve and that they are willing and able to provide evidence in court to back up their claim that he should be declared deceased.

Keeping in mind that no wreckage has ever been found, the argument inevitably will be based on the circumstances of his disappearance:

• Fossett was alone on the flight and filed no flight plan. He was out for “pleasure” and planned to return the the Hilton compound “by lunch”.
• Fossett had no gear. He had “no parachute” and “one bottle of water”.
• The plane was last spotted at 11 a.m., about 20-25 miles from the ranch. The surrounding mountainous terrain is difficult to search. So difficult, in fact, that eight previously undiscovered crash sites were found during rescue/recovery efforts.

What still sticks in my craw is that this guy circumnavigated the globe in a hot air balloon (and boat and fixed-wing plane) but he could go down in the Sierra Nevadas 20 miles away from his point of origin. With no parachute. And no supplies. And no flight plan.

So either he was just ill-prepared and over-confident or there’s more to be discovered.