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Adventurer Steve Fossett declared dead Millionaire adventurer Steve Fossett, who risked his life seeking to set records in high-tech balloons, gliders and jets, was declared dead Friday, 5 months after he vanished while flying in an ordinary small plane. 2008-02-15 People: [Steve Fossett] [Richard Branson] Virgin Atlantic 747 to test biofuel in early 2008 British billionaire Richard Branson said on Monday his Virgin Group (VA.UL) hopes to produce clean biofuels by around the start of the next decade and early next year will test a jet plane on renewable fuel. 2007-10-15 People: [Steve Fossett] Satellite Searches Could Spot Bigfoot, Loch Ness Monster Adventurer Steve Fossett went missing Sept. 3 about 70 miles southeast of Reno, Nevada, in a small plane. He left no flight plan, and searchers have combed tens of thousands of square miles of Nevada and California. After weeks of fruitless searches, and with the survival window closing, Web users were enlisted to help in Fossett's rescue, from the comfort of their own homes. Using a program called Mechanical Turk, high-resolution satellite imagery of the search area was collected and analyzed. Participants were shown a single satellite image and asked to note any objects or wreckage that could be a plane or its debris. The search did solve a few mysteries: several previously unknown small plane wrecks—some dating back to the 1950s—were found. Though Fossett and his plane remain missing, the satellite technology used to search for him could theoretically be applied to other types of searches. It may finally verify the existence of large, mysterious creatures reputed to inhabit the globe. Unknown animals such as Bigfoot and the Loch Ness monster, for example, might be easily located and captured—if indeed they exist. While satellites would be of limited use in heavily wooded areas, Bigfoot creatures have been reported in many places with relatively little forest, including Nevada, New Mexico, Utah, Texas and Arizona. A single 12-foot Bigfoot may or may not be hard to spot, but a family of them would be easier to find. Furthermore, there cannot be only one Bigfoot; there must be a breeding population of them, by some estimates 6,000 to 10,000 in North America alone. Surely a coordinated, close search of satellite images would reveal dozens, if not hundreds or thousands, of Bigfoot in remote areas at any given time. The search could include bodies of water as well. Many lake monsters and sea serpents are reported to be 50 feet or longer, and surface regularly where they are seen. If armchair investigators are up to the task, they could monitor monster-inhabited lakes such as Scotland's Loch Ness, Canada's Lake Okanagan and America's Lake Champlain using Google Earth technology. Monster buffs don't need to dip their toes into cold lakes or brave the wilderness to search for their quarry; they can scan a dozen square miles over cup of hot coffee at their leisure. Of course, if such searches are done and still reveal no solid proof of the monsters' existence, few minds will be changed. Diehard believers can always claim that all the monstrous beasts somehow hid undetected or are masters at camouflage. Or the searchers didn't look long enough or in the right places. It only takes one live or dead Bigfoot or lake monster to forever prove that they exist, but no amount of failed searches will ever prove they don't. Benjamin Radford is LiveScience's Bad Science columnist. He is co-author of "Lake Monster Mysteries: Investigating the World's Most Elusive Creatures" (2006). This and other books are noted on his website. Top 10 Unexplained Phenomena Observing Earth: Amazing Views From Above Image Gallery: Breaking the Sound Barrier Original Story: Satellite Searches Could Spot Bigfoot, Loch Ness Monster 2007-09-26 People: [Steve Fossett] Volunteers hamper Fossett search, some flights barred Citing the risks of volunteer pilots running into rescue teams searching for missing U.S. adventurer Steve Fossett, aviation officials on Saturday issued a ban on civilian flights near the search. 2007-09-15 People: [Steve Fossett] Experts doubt Steve Fossett still alive Steve Fossett survived a nearly 30,000-foot plunge in a crippled balloon, a dangerous swim through the frigid English Channel and hours in shark-infested seas. But 10 days after he took off on a routine flight and never returned, doubts were growing Wednesday as to whether he was still alive. 2007-09-12 People: [Steve Fossett] Headlines Adventurer Steve Fossett declared dead 2008-02-15 Virgin Atlantic 747 to test biofuel in early 2008 2007-10-15 Satellite Searches Could Spot Bigfoot, Loch Ness Monster 2007-09-26 Volunteers hamper Fossett search, some flights barred 2007-09-15 Experts doubt Steve Fossett still alive 2007-09-12 Experts doubt Steve Fossett still alive 2007-09-11 Aviator's disappearance remains mystery 2007-09-08 Aviator's fate puzzles search crews 2007-09-08 No sign of Fossett as fifth day of search planned 2007-09-07 Fossett search enters day 3 2007-09-06 Adventurer Steve Fossett's plane missing 2007-09-04 Odd couple aim to put civilians in space 2007-04-15 Fossett Decides to Continue Aviation Quest 2006-02-11 Fossett Breaks Flight Distance Record 2006-02-11 Record-Seeking Aviator Passes Halfway Mark 2006-02-10 Fossett soars over China in record global flight bid 2006-02-09 Flight-Distance Record May Be Hard to Beat 2006-02-06 Fossett Tries to Break Distance Record 2006-02-06 Fossett Breaks Nonstop Solo Flight Record 2005-03-03 Tycoon Finishes Global Balloon Quest 2002-07-02 Tycoon Completes Global Balloon Trip 2002-07-02 Fossett Nears End of Balloon Quest 2002-07-01 Balloonist Picks Up Speed Over Pacific 2002-06-22 Fossett Begins New Balloon Trip 2002-06-19 Man to Retry Around-the-World Quest 2002-05-13 Luck, wind and a gamble paid off for balloonists-Reuters 1999-03-22 Balloonists Complete World Trip 1999-03-21 Balloon success due to China okay, key fuel change 1999-03-20 Balloonists Race Across Atlantic 1999-03-19 Balloon Team Nears Jamaica 1999-03-18 Balloonists over Pacific, claim record 1999-03-15 Swiss-Brit Balloon Nears Bangladesh 1999-03-09 Swiss balloon lifts off in round-world race 1999-03-01 UK round-world balloonist to take risky sky walk 1999-02-19 Swiss-British balloon duo get go-ahead from China 1999-01-31 China Says No More Balloon Flights 1998-12-29 Balloonists OK After Splash Down 1998-12-26 Weather Defeats Branson Balloon On Christmas Day 1998-12-25 Branson balloon faces new weather hazard 1998-12-24 Branson Balloon Heading To N. Or S. Korea 1998-12-23 China Allows Branson Balloon to Fly on 1998-12-23 China Orders Balloon Team To Land 1998-12-22 Balloon Team Crosses Into China 1998-12-21 China agrees to Branson balloon entry 1998-12-21 Branson to join Fossett in round-world balloon bid 1998-09-10 Downed Balloonist Found Alive 1998-08-16 Balloonist Breaks Personal Records 1998-08-14 Most-viewed Man to Retry Around-the-World Quest 2002-05-13 Adventurer Steve Fossett declared dead 2008-02-15 UK round-world balloonist to take risky sky walk 1999-02-19 Balloon Team Crosses Into China 1998-12-21 Adventurer Steve Fossett's plane missing 2007-09-04 Balloonists Complete World Trip 1999-03-21 Balloon Team Nears Jamaica 1999-03-18 Fossett Nears End of Balloon Quest 2002-07-01 Balloonist Picks Up Speed Over Pacific 2002-06-22 Fossett soars over China in record global flight bid 2006-02-09 Balloonist Breaks Personal Records 1998-08-14 Luck, wind and a gamble paid off for balloonists-Reuters 1999-03-22 Fossett Breaks Nonstop Solo Flight Record 2005-03-03 Fossett Begins New Balloon Trip 2002-06-19 Balloonists OK After Splash Down 1998-12-26 Virgin Atlantic 747 to test biofuel in early 2008 2007-10-15 Odd couple aim to put civilians in space 2007-04-15

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