The Speculative View
Vanished Into Thin Air: Was Steve Fossett Shot Down Over Area 51?
By J. Mark Soveign
2/22/08

Did he get too close to Area 51?

Millionaire adventurer Steve Fossett, who risked his life setting records in hot air balloons, gliders and jets, was declared dead Friday, 5 months after he vanished while embarking on a pleasure flight in an ordinary small plane on a clear day.  A hugely experienced pilot, Fossett was no greenhorn and his disappearance remains a mystery.  A hi-tech search by hundreds of volunteers over 10,000 square miles turned up nothing.

So where is Steve Fossett?  Did he pull a D.B. Cooper?  Did he fake his own death?  Is it a conspiracy, government or worse?  Fossett, who accompanied Sir Richard Branson on numerous adventures, ran across Death Valley, swam the English Channel, and broke more than 100 records in aviation, sailing, and balooning was last seen September 3, after taking off in a single-engine plane from an airstrip near Yerington, Nevada, destination- back to the hotel for lunch.  Now he is gone.  Fossett's plane, a Bellanca Citabria Super Decathlon, carried an electronic locator that sends a satellite signal after a crash or a rough landing.  Officials couldn't pick up any locator signals or any radio communications after he disappeared.

Fossett took off alone the morning of Sept. 3, 2007, from an airstrip about 70 miles southeast of Reno, Nevada.   A friend reported him missing when he didn't return at a scheduled time.   At the request of his wife, Peggy V. Fossett, a judge declared Fossett legally dead in Cook County Circuit Court as a step toward resolving the legal status of his estate.

Fossett is not a strong candidate to lose his way under such ideal flying conditions.  In 2002, he became the first person to fly around the world alone in a balloon, after five previous attempts.  In March 2005, he became the first person to fly a plane solo around the world without refueling.  He and a co-pilot claim to have set a world glider altitude record of 50,600 feet during a flight in August 2006 over the Andes Mountains.

Fossett has climbed some of the world's tallest peaks, including the Matterhorn in Switzerland and Mount Kilimanjaro in Tanzania.  He also swam the English Channel, and placed 47th in the Iditarod dog sled race in 1992. He participated in the 24 Hours of Le Mans auto race in 1996.

In 1995, Fossett became the first person to fly solo across the Pacific Ocean in a balloon, landing in Leader, Saskatchewan, Canada.  While studying for economics at Stanford, his friends persuaded him to swim the 1.5 miles to Alcatraz island off San Francisco.  He also finished the Boston Marathon and the Ironman Triathlon.  He was inducted into the National Aviation Hall of Fame in 2007.  Not a likely candidate to just disappear on such a mundane excursion.

If one were to examine Google earth, they would see that Area 51 is only at 150 or 200 miles from the spot where he took off.  If he inadvertantly wandered into restricted air space would he have been shot down?  If so, would the authorities every say anything?  Doubtful, but without any hard evidence we cannot conclude that this is what happened.  Still, it is very puzzling why searchers to this day have not turned up any trace of wreckage.

Very, very strange...         

with billionaire dare devil Branson