Folks,

Steve Fossett aircraft found in the area of the Minarets.

As you recall I was invited by the search team for Steve Fossett to set up the air-ground communications. I spent several days at the Hilton Ranch search base in Nevada building up the mountaintop communications repeater that was used for more than 30 days. No one on our team ever speculated as to where Fossett went down. After several weeks the official search was called off. We all knew that someday he would most likely be found by a hiker or back-packer. The air search was very extensive and was very thorough in both Nevada and California. To show the contrast of this rugged region I submit two photos. The first picture below was todays release from the search team and the second picture was one I personally took as we flew along the edge of the Minarets near Mammoth Mountain. There would be no way one could see the strewn wreckage from our clearance altitude in the fixed wing.

I want to thank all of you who sent me late breaking stories with pictures.

Bill Talanian