NEWS RELEASE                                                       Submitted 4, September, 2007   3:00 PM
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE                                       Original release date: 4, September, 2007

Search Expands for Steve Fossett

Minden, NV —  Famed aviator and entrepreneur Steve Fossett, 63,  missing since Monday noon, has not been located despite an expanding search by the USAF-Nevada Wing Civil Air Patrol in addition to California Wing, CAP, government and private resources. It has been reported that Fossett was flying a Citabria Super Decathalon single-engine aircraft with the tail number N240R. 

Searchers were first notified late Monday evening that Fossett had departed from a private airstrip owned by hotel magnate, William Barron Hilton near Yerington, Nevada at approximately 9:00 a.m., planning to return by 12:00 p.m. A search was initiated that afternoon and continued by the Nevada Wing CAP, and participating agencies Tuesday morning at 7:00 a.m. from their mission base in Minden, Nevada.

Among additional air resources available to searchers today will be a specialized Civil Air Patrol aircraft from the Utah Wing, CAP equipped with Archer (Airborne ) multi spectral imagining system similar in nature to the hyper spectral analysis used by geo scientists. A set of parameters describing the targets color and shape  is programmed into the system, and through a sophisticated algorithm , the Archer system is able to differentiate a potential target from background clutter. It can identify a target using as little as ten percent of the targets characteristics.

The search area includes and area roughly 600 square miles in size, extending from the Yerington, Nevada area to Bishop, California and about 200 miles wide with a western boundary following the eastern flank of the Sierra Nevada mountain range. Searchers accumulated over 35 air hours of flying time on Tuesday, utilizing up to 14 aircraft; both fixed wing and rotor from the Civil Air Patrol, the Nevada Air Guard and the California Highway Patrol. Four ground search teams were activated from Lyon and Mineral Counties in Nevada, as well as Nevada and Mono counties in California.

Fossett's, aircraft, the Citabria Super Decathalon, built in 1980 and owned by the Flying M Hunting Club, Inc., 75 miles south of Reno, Nevada,  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.

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. Todays’ weather promises to be clear with wind being less of a factor until late afternoon ‘zephyr’ winds start down the east slopes of the Sierras.

Civil Air Patrol, the official Air Force Auxiliary, is a nonprofit organization with more than 64,000 members nationwide.  Volunteers perform search and rescue, homeland security, disaster relief and counterdrug missions at the request of federal, state and local agencies.  The members take a leading role in aerospace education and serve as mentors to the almost 27,000 young people currently participating in CAP cadet programs. CAP has been performing missions for America for more than 60 years.

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MEDIA INQUIRIES:

Maj. Cynthia S.  Ryan, Public Information Officer, Nevada Wing CAP

775.853.4057 voice/fax  775.358.3700 NVWGCAPHQ  775.848.3072 mobile ladybird53@sbcglobal.net