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Plane wreckage found in search for pilot Fossett
Danny Brierley2 Oct 2008
Search crews looking for adventurer Steve Fossett today found what they believe is the wreckage of his aircraft.
They had restarted the search for the millionaire, who has been missing for more than a year, after a hiker found his ID cards in the Sierra Nevada mountains, near Mammoth Lakes in eastern California.
A spotter plane is now said to have discovered the remains of a small plane.
Fossett, who was backed by Sir Richard Branson in many of his record-breaking attempts, has not been seen since he took off from an airstrip in the Nevada desert on 3 September last year.
Hiker Preston Morrow, 43, said he found three identification cards bearing Fossett's name along with five $100 bills in remote terrain in the Inyo National Forest.
Sir Richard said: "It looks very much like we're close to finding Steve. Hiker Preston Morrow needs to be thanked for alerting the authorities."
The Virgin tycoon told Sky News: "It's likely he will be found in the next few days and they will be able to find out what went wrong.
"Steve was flying into a perilous mountain area - whether the engine gave out on him or whether he had a heart attack or some other medical problem, you don't know."
RAF pilot Andy Green, the landspeed record holder who was helping Fossett prepare a recordbreaking attempt, said: "I really want to know what happened to my friend Steve. His widow has found it very hard, as anyone would, when your husband of many years just disappears. For all of them, I'm hopeful finally we will have some closure."
As the search continued, the Federal Aviation Administration was trying to determine whether the ID cards found by Mr Morrow were authentic.
Fossett, 63, was a recordsetting balloonist, sailor and pilot who completed non-stop flights around the world.
Mr Morrow, a sports shop worker, said he did not realise the significance of his find at 4pm on Monday until he was talking about it to friends the following morning.
He believes the identity cards were found just outside the search area authorities had previously combed. Mr Morrow said: "I was way, way off trail. What I found as I was in the middle of nowhere was an ID. His name didn't pop in my head immediately. All I could think of was a bear found a backpacker's bag or wallet and dragged it away to go look for food."
Erica Stuart, of Madera County sheriff's office, would not identify the location of the wreckage, however it was earlier revealed that the search was in a 10-mile radius of where Mr Morrow found the identity cards.
