Bones are Fossett's, DNA testing shows

TurdBird

Well-Known Member
Bones are Fossett's, DNA testing shows

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<!--endclickprintexclude--><!--startclickprintexclude--><!--endclickprintexclude-->(CNN) -- Bones found last week near where Steve Fossett's plane crashed in eastern California's Sierra Nevadas are those of the adventurer, authorities said Monday.

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<!--===========CAPTION==========-->Fossett, seen here with his wife, Peggy, disappeared after a solo flight in 2007.

<!--endclickprintexclude-->Testing at California's state crime lab determined that "two large bones" recovered Wednesday matched Fossett's DNA, a spokeswoman for the Madera County Sheriff's Department in California said.

Madera County Sheriff John Anderson said last week that confirmation that the bones were Fossett's would allow authorities to conclude with certainty that Fossett is dead.

Fossett was last seen on the morning of September 3, 2007, when he took off from the Flying-M Ranch outside Minden, Nevada. He was scouting locations for an attempt to break the land-speed record in a rocket-propelled car.

Searchers found the bones, Fossett's driver's license, a pair of shoes and a $100 bill on Wednesday, Anderson said last week. The discovery site was a little more than a half-mile from where Fossett's plane wreckage was found on October 1 in a remote area of the Sierra Nevadas at an altitude of 10,000 feet.

The site of Wednesday's discovery also is about a quarter-mile from
where a hiker reported finding two aviation identification cards with Fossett's name and $1,000 in cash in late September, Anderson said.
Animal chew marks were found on the driver's license and the shoes, Anderson said. He said the marks indicate that "animals possibly [moved] the body."
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Previous DNA tests on what were believed to be bone fragments at and near the crash site showed that the fragments weren't human remains, Anderson said.

The National Transportation Safety Board has been investigating the wreck.

Fossett made his money in the financial services industry but became renowned for his daredevil exploits.

Fossett was the first person to circle the globe solo in a balloon, in 2002, and the first to fly a plane around the world solo without refueling three years later. He also set world records in round-the-world sailing and cross-country skiing.

http://www.cnn.com/2008/US/11/03/fossett.bones/index.html?iref=topnews<!--startclickprintexclude-->
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Does anyone know the tail number of Fossett's airplane?

I'd like to follow the NTSB investigation. . . its probable cause will likely be something insane like. . . "pilot failed to maintain separation from the terrain".
 
Thats too bad.
I would've bet money that he was faking his death due to some bad investments or sabatoge by a jilted party. It's strange to think that someone with his experience would CFIT. :confused:
 
Thats too bad.
I would've bet money that he was faking his death due to some bad investments or sabatoge by a jilted party. It's strange to think that someone with his experience would CFIT. :confused:

There may have been other factors involved too.

We may never know what happened, a medical event could have happened that could have incapacitated him, before the plane crashed....

We don't know, and may never know the exact circumstances of what happened. He was a helluva pilot, and it is NOT like him to do anything like flying into a mountain.
 
Wasn't it VFR the day he crashed? I can't remember.
Just because it's VFR somewhere doesn't mean it's VFR everywhere. wx can change very fast in the mountains. Worst case scenario wouldn't necessarily involve vis, but rather downdrafts that your aircraft can't outclimb or get clear of. Speaking from experience, those are NOT fun.
 
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