DNA tests confirm Fossett’s death

Early last month a hiker found Fossett’s identification papers near the Yosemite National Park and alerted local authorities who later discovered the plane wreckage.

Fossett’s widow, Peggy, said she was now waiting for the conclusion of the National Transportation Safety Board’s probe into her husband’s crash.

“I am hopeful that the DNA identification puts a definitive end to all of the speculation surrounding Steve’s death,” she said in a statement to the Reuters news agency.

In 2002, Fossett became the first person to circle the globe solo in a balloon and had about 100 other world records to his name.