Plane carrying aviation adventurer Steve Fossett missing after leaving Nevada airstrip

RENO, Nev. — Millionaire adventurer Steve Fossett, who has cheated death time and again in his successful pursuit of aviation records, was missing Tuesday after taking off in a single-engine plane the day before, federal officials said.

Teams searched a broad swath of rugged terrain in western Nevada near the ranch where he took off, but searchers had little to go on because he apparently didn't file a flight plan, a Federal Aviation Administration spokesman said.

"They are working on some leads, but they don't know where he is right now," FAA spokesman Ian Gregor said.

The 63-year-old took off at 8:45 a.m. Monday from an airstrip at hotel magnate Barron Hilton's Flying M Ranch, about 70 miles southeast of Reno. It wasn't clear whether anyone else was aboard.

A friend reported him missing when he didn't return, authorities said.

Six aircraft were doing grid searches over hundreds of square miles, said Maj. Cynthia S. Ryan of the Civil Air Patrol. The search was being coordinated by the Air Force's Rescue Coordination Center at Langley Air Force Base in Virginia.

As of Tuesday afternoon, the Utah Wing of the Civil Air Patrol had been asked to assemble volunteer crews to be on standby in case the Nevada Wing needs help in the search for Fossett, Utah Wing Vice Comander Lt. Col. Donna Todd said. Hill Air Force Base had not been asked as of Tuesday to be involved in search efforts.

Many of Fossett's adventures have been financed by U.K. billionaire Sir Richard Branson. A Branson spokesman said Fossett had been scouting locations for an upcoming attempt to break the land speed record in a car.

"We understand that Steve Fossett was flying solo and he was carrying four full tanks of gas on board," Paul Charles said. "He was searching for dry and empty lake beds which might be suitable for his plan to break the land speed record."

Ryan described the plane as a Bellanca Citabria Super Decathalon, blue and white with orange stripes and blue sunburst designs on the wings. The two-seat tandem "tail dragger" is capable of aerobatic maneuvers, Ryan said.

FAA records show the registered owner is Flying M Hunting Club Inc. of Yerington, Nev. The agency certified it Aug. 21, 1980.

A telephone message left for a Peggy Fossett in Beaver Creek, Colo., where Steve Fossett lives, was not immediately returned. Fossett is married to the former Peggy Viehland of Richmond Heights, Mo.