Search on for missing US adventurer

Americas

Steve Fossett in 2002 became the first person to fly a balloon solo around the world.

Last Modified: 04 Sep 2007 23:19 GMT

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Fossett, right, achieved the first solo non-stop world flight in a Virgin Atlantic aircraft [Reuters]

Steve Fossett, a US adventurer who made record-breaking solo flights around the world by plane and balloon, is missing after taking off in Nevada in a small aircraft, aviation authorities said.

The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) said Fossett was reported missing overnight after taking off from a ranch in a single engine aircraft.

The FAA on Tuesday said the millionaire did not file a flight plan, making it hard to pinpoint where the plane went. He was not required to file one.

Fossett had not been in communication with air traffic controllers and no distress signal had been received, the aviation administration said.

Mountainous terrain

Commander Douglas Russell of the Naval Air Station in Fallon, Nevada, said: "It's rough, mountainous terrain there. There are not a lot of roads out there, rocky. Picture if you will Afghanistan."

The US navy had dispatched a helicopter to help in the search alongside the Civil Air Patrol.

"[Fossett] never seems to stop looking for the next challenge, he harkens back to the golden age of flight..."

Ron Kaplan, executive director of the National Aviation Hall of Fame in Dayton, Ohio

Stuart Radnofsky, spokesman for Fossett, said he had been visiting the Flying M Ranch owned by Barron Hilton, which he described as a popular sport flying centre.

Fossett, who earned his fortune as a financial trader, in 2002 became the first person to fly a balloon solo around the world and in 2005 achieved the first solo non-stop flight around the world in the Virgin Atlantic GlobalFlyer aircraft.

Last year Fossett flew solo in the GlobalFlyer to set the absolute non-stop distance record for any aircraft and set a new glider world altitude record with Einar Enevoldson, his co-pilot.

Fossett has also competed in endurance competitions, swam across the English Channel and set numerous world records in sailing.

Ron Kaplan, executive director of the National Aviation Hall of Fame in Dayton, Ohio, which enshrined Fossett in May, said Fossett was not a daredevil. Rather, Fossett was a careful aviator who took advantage of advances in aviation technology to chase records.

Kaplan said: "He never seems to stop looking for the next challenge. He harkens back to the golden age of flight between the world wars when there was a multitude of records to be broken because of advances in technology."

Source:

Agencies

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