NATIONAL HEADQUARTERS — Despite improved weather conditions and high-tech equipment, aviation icon and adventurer Steve Fossett still has not been located.
Fossett departed a private airstrip 30 miles south of Yerington, Nev., the morning of Sept. 3 for a short flight around the surrounding area, intending to return by noon. He was reported missing by family and friends at the Flying M Ranch, owned by hotel magnate William Barron Hilton, later that afternoon.
The search became fully operational early Sept. 4, using maximum resources from the Civil Air Patrol’s Nevada, California and Utah wings, the Nevada Air and Army National Guard, California Highway Patrol and ground teams from four counties in the targeted search area.
In use again Sept. 6 is a specialized Civil Air Patrol Gippsland GA8 Airvan from the Utah Wing equipped with ARCHER, a hyperspectral imaging system similar in nature to the hyperspectral analysis used by geoscientists.
A set of parameters describing a downed airplane's color and size is programmed into the system, and through a sophisticated algorithm, the Archer system is able to differentiate a potential target from background clutter via a greatly enhanced visual spectrum and reflectivity factors. It can identify a target as small as 1 square meter in size while flying at 120 knots from a 2,500-foot altitude.
Additionally, the Washoe County Search and Rescue team has deployed a submersible vehicle in Nevada’s Walker Lake. They hope to identify any wreckage or debris that might lead searchers to focus in that area.
The search area has expanded to more than 10,000 square miles in size, extending from the Yerington, Nev., area to Bishop, Calif., along the eastern flank of the Sierra Nevada mountain range. Searchers accumulated more than 35 air hours of flying time Sept. 4, using 10 aircraft -- both fixed-wing and rotor -- from the Civil Air Patrol, the Nevada Air and Army National Guard and the California Highway Patrol.
In addition, four ground search teams were activated from Lyon and Mineral Counties in Nevada, as well as Nevada and Mono counties in California. They have been searching remote jeep trails and tracks.
Fossett's, aircraft, the Citabria Super Decathlon, built in 1980 and owned by the Flying M Hunting Club Inc., 75 miles south of Reno, Nev., is a well-known aircraft with a long history. It is a two-seat aircraft capable of aerobatic maneuvers, featuring a tail wheel instead of the usual "tricycle" gear featured on most light aircraft.
Fossett reportedly did not have a parachute, which is sometimes used in this aircraft, since he wasn’t fond of aerobatic maneuvers. It is also reported he was wearing a sophisticated wristwatch that could be used as a personal locator beacon. Due to the rugged terrain and the potential for damage to any instruments during a difficult landing, such objects may be rendered inoperable.
Since low-altitude airborne search and rescue is inherently risky, the emphasis is always on safety. Search participants have been briefed on a variety of potential problems, such as flying in mountainous terrain, radio procedures, turbulence, adverse weather and density altitude issues. The weather Sept. 6 promises to be clear with wind being less of a factor until late-afternoon “zephyr” winds start down the east slopes of the Sierras.
