Millionaire adventurer Steve Fossett, who has cheated death time and again in his successful pursuit of aviation records, was missing after taking off in a single-engine plane the day before to scout locations for a land-speed record attempt, officials said.
Teams searched a broad swath of rugged terrain in western Nevada on Tuesday near the ranch where he took off, but searchers had little to go on because he apparently did not file a flight plan, a Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) spokesman said.
"They are working on some leads, but they don't know where he is right now," FAA spokesman Ian Gregor said.
Fossett, the first person to circle the world solo in a balloon, was seeking places for an upcoming attempt to break the land speed record in a car, said Sir Richard Branson, the British billionaire who has helped finance many of Fossett's adventures.
The 63-year-old Fossett took off alone at 8:45am on Monday from an airstrip at hotel magnate Barron Hilton's Flying M Ranch, about 113km southeast of Reno. A friend reported him missing when he did not return, authorities said.
Fourteen aircraft, including a helicopter with infrared equipment, were searching for Fossett, in addition to ground crews, said Major Cynthia Ryan of the Civil Air Patrol. The teams were conducting grid searches over 719,425km2 but were concentrating on an area of 1,555km2.
"It is a very large haystack, and an airplane is a very small needle, no doubt about it," Ryan said at a news conference.
The search was suspended on Tuesday evening and was to resume yesterday morning. Ryan said there had been no sign of Fossett's plane nor radio contact.
The terrain of the search area is varied, ranging from high deserts with dry lake beds and sagebrush to rugged mountain peaks.
The landscape, combined with gusty winds, complicated Tuesday's search.
It is not uncommon for pilots flying out of a remote, private airstrip to do so without filing a flight plan, Ryan said.
Fossett plane carried a locator that sends a satellite signal after a rough landing, but no such signal had been received.
In 2002, Fossett became the first person to fly around the world alone in a balloon. In two weeks, his balloon flew 31,265.9km around the Southern Hemisphere. The record came after five previous attempts -- some of them spectacular and frightening failures.
It is among dozens of firsts claimed by Fossett in his life as an adventurer, which he embarked on after a successful career in securities.
He set marks for speed or distance in balloons, airplanes, gliders, sailboats -- even cross-country skis and an airship, according to his Web site.
Branson said in a statement that Fossett's flight on Monday was preparation for a shot at breaking the land speed record in a car.
Fossett was flying solo and had filled the plane's two fuel tanks, Branson said.
"Steve is a tough old boot. I suspect he is waiting by his plane right now for someone to pick him up," he said. "Based on his track record, I feel confident we'll get some good news soon."
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