Fossett still missing

As Nevada rescue attempt temporarily halted overnight

Overnight in Nevada the authorities have temporarily suspended their search for 63 year old American adventurer and record breaker Steve Fossett who has been missing after setting off on a routine flight on Monday morning.

The search centres around the Flying M Ranch, a remote complex based around a landing strip, owned by Baron Hilton, head of the famous hotel empire and another avid aviator, located close to the Nevada-California border just south of Lake Tahoe. Fossett made the flight on his own on Monday to research a site for another of his momentus record attempts - this time to raise the land speed record to 800mph, faster than the speed of sound in a 47ft long vehicle powered by the jet engine from a Phantom fighter. This record attempt was due to take place imminently.

While Nevada is known for its desert, much of the 600 square miles the search zone is focussing on is far from flat and includes the eastern flanks of the giant Sierra Nevada mountain range to the west. The rescue mission was further hampered yesterday by strong winds.

As this was a round trip, Fossett was not required to file a flight plan and according to Major Cynthia Ryan of the Nevada Cival Air Patrol speaking to the BBC this morning, Fossett is thought not to have taken with him an essential bag of electronics that included a search and rescue transponder that would allow the rescue authorities to home in on him in the event of a crisis such as this occurring.

Owned by Baron Hilton, the two seater single engined propeller plane Fossett was flying was a Bellanca Citabria Super Decathlon, a lightweight aircraft often used in aerobatic displays.

Fossett is a highly accommplished aviator. In 2005 he made the first solo nonstop flight around the world aboard Virgin Atlantic Global Flyer. He has also holds the world record for flying the longest distance without landing, set last year after he flew around the world eastabout from Florida and then continued across the Atlantic landing in Bournemouth airport.

Within the US Fossett holds three coast to coast aviation records, one for non-supersonic jets, another for turbo prop planes and for non-supersonic fixed wing aircraft. Fossett also holds a multitude of gliding records, including the 'distance world record' of a phenomenal 2193km.

As a sailor Fossett has hung up his seaboots in 2004. His most significant achievement over a decade of yachting were to break the non-stop round the world record and the west to east transatlantic record aboard his 125ft catamaran PlayStation. He still holds nine Ratified Passage Records including the round Britain record and Yokohama to San Francisco singlehanded. PlayStation dismasted during the Oryx Quest (Fossett was not on board) and has since been fitted with large engines and was used as the photo boat for the recent Transpac. The rumour is that Fossett plans to use the boat as the base for some diving records in the future.

Brian Thompson sailed with Fossett pretty much from the outset of his career when he bought Florence Arthaud's ORMA 60 trimaran, the 1990 Route du Rhum winner Pierre 1er, and renamed her Lokata, after his trading company. Thompon sailed with Fossett on a majority of his record attempts, although it is often forgotten about Fossett's achievements as a solo racer. Just a year after taking up sailing Fossett finished third in the 60ft multihull class in Route du Rhum. "That would be like me getting to the semi-finals of Wimbledon a year after taking up tennis," says Thompson.

Meeting Fossett he comes across as a very amiable individual, slightly shy even and you impression of either his considerable wealth as a successful trader nor of his unfeasibly long list of achievements as an adventurer and record breaker. What you certainly don't get any indication of is the tough, gritty side to him.

"He has a very tough side," says Thompson. "He survived an un-survivable crash in his balloon. I think it was about his fourth attempt aroud the world when he was crossing the Southern Ocean, when he got past Australia and the balloon envelope tore and lost all its air and he was plummeting to the ground with just a flapping balloon above him. He just lay on the bottom of the capsule, flat and hit the water at about 100 mph and he was unconscious for a bit. The capsule caught fire but he managed to get out and put the fire out and get rescued. So he is very tough and resilient. He could be walking out of there right now – we certainly hope so.

"I have never ever seen him get flapped by anything. We have had broken masts, broken daggerboards, had near capsizes, all the normal excitement you get with a maxi multihulls when you have sailed it for years and he has always been totally unflappable in all of that and always keeps his head. He is a remarkable person.

"He probably flies every day of his life. He is a very very good pilot. That is his real passion now. It was mountain climbing, then motor racing and then for a long period sailing and now it is flying. Hopefully we’ll get him out sailing again soon."