Bone at crash site may end Fossett mystery

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Search crews found a "very small amount" of remains in debris from the crash site, at 10,000 feet in the Sierra Nevada mountains.

Mark Rosenker, chief of the National Transportation Safety Board, said today: "Did we find some? Yes, a very, very small amount."

Fossett, 63, vanished after taking off in a single-engine plane on 3 September last year, sparking a long but fruitless search.

A local sheriff 's official said a bone had been found but declined to say if it was human or animal.

Mr Rosenker added: "Given the length of time that wreckage has been there, it is not surprising to come into a debris field and not find a lot of human remains."

The remains will be examined by a coroner, possibly closing months of speculation over whether the millionaire adventurer actually died.

Virgin boss Sir Richard Branson, a close friend of Fossett, said: "We can finally bring closure to Steve's wonderful life. The frivolous stories can also be put to rest and family, friends and the rest of the world can now pay tribute to a truly great man."

The crash site was discovered after a hiker found Fossett's identification cards not far from Yosemite National Park.

Investigators have confirmed the plane was the one in which he took off a year ago. Parts of it were scattered over a swathe of mountain 400 feet long, and a helicopter was today hauling-away pieces before a snow storm sweeps in.

Fossett was declared legally dead in February. His widow Peggy said this week: "Uncertainty surrounding my husband's death over this past year has created a very difficult situation for me. I hope now to be able to bring to closure a very painful chapter in my life."

Sir Richard, who backed some of Fossett's record attempts and unsuccessfully-tried to circumnavigate the globe by balloon with him, added that he had led "a most extraordinary life but died doing something quite mundane".

He told Sky News: "I don't think what happened to Steve should deter people from pushing themselves. There's no question he would have wanted people to see what they were capable of and see if technology could be pushed further."