Steve Fossett Declared Deadby Libby Pelham | More from this Blogger 16 Feb 2008 02:04 PM It is a sad ending to a man that everyone initially felt would beat the odds. In case you don't remember, millionaire adventurer Steve Fossett was on a solo flight over the Sierra Nevada Mountain Range in his single engine plane on September 3, 2007, but he never returned. After he was three hours late, rescuers and volunteers started a search for the 63-year-old Fossett. Unfortunately, the area that Fossett was over is twice the size of New Jersey. Still optimistic, rescuers continued to search until October 2, but there was still no sign of Fossett or his plane. They did however, find the wreckage of eight other plane crashes, with one dating back to the 60s. He had only a single bottle of water and no parachute, so it seemed that the adventurer was indeed dead. Fossett was known as a daredevil - at the time of his death, he was building a single-man submarine and a vehicle that could travel up to 800 mph. He had made non-stop trips around the world in a balloon, a fixed-wing plane, and a boat. In 2002, he was the first to circle the globe in a balloon. He was also the first to fly a plane around the world without stopping to refuel. He swam the English Channel, ran the Iditarod race (he finished 47th), and drove in the Le Mans race twice. In total, he holds 14 world records for airplane flight, two for ballooning, 11 in sailing, six in glider flight, and one each in airship flight and cross country skiing. Steve was one busy guy! Fossett made all his money as a commodities broker, launching the company Lakota Trading, based in Chicago. Last Friday, Chicago probate court judge Jeffrey Malak declared Fossett dead. His wife of 38 years, Peggy, had asked that her husband's will be entered into probate. Related blogs: Boating and Water Sports at the Polynesian Resort Up, Up And Away--Traveling To A Hot Air Balloon Festival Learn more about Libby Pelham  Libby Pelham is a work-at-home mom located in Jacksonville, NC. She has a beautiful little boy, Will, born in July of 2004. Relevantpopular culture tags User Comments  Courtney Mroch (9169) 16 Feb 2008 03:07 PMIsn't this so sad? He was kind of eccentric in his own way, but inspiring in another because he had such a great sense of adventure. I kept hoping they'd find him. Even when I heard they'd declared him legally dead earlier this a.m. I thought, "I sure hope they do find him one day. Preferably alive and somehow with an amazing tale of survival, but at least his remains so they know for sure he's gone." I will miss hearing about what record he's got his sites on breaking next. It was fun to follow Fossett's Follies.  Libby Pelham |
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