CAP searchers still hoping for results on Fossett search efforts
Day 6: Search area now up to 17,000 square miles
September 08, 2007
NEVADA – Frustrated, but not undaunted, search crews from the Nevada and California wings of the U.S. Civil Air Patrol, the Nevada Army and Air National Guard, in addition to ground crews from Nevada and California county sheriffs' departments, have converged for a sixth day of intensive search effort for aviator Steve Fossett.
It is believed Fossett could have gone anywhere in the nearly 17,000-square-mile search area during his flight Sept. 3 from the Flying M Ranch near Yerington, Nev. Ground reports during his takeoff said he flew south from the ranch.
Morale at the Minden, Nev., airport incident command post, where the search efforts are being coordinated, remains high, based in no small part on successful outcomes of past searches that may have seemed hopeless as days stretched on.
Maximum resources from multiple agencies and jurisdictions under a unified command structure are still being committed to the intensive effort. On Sept. 7 they included:
Seven single-engine Cessna 182 and two Cessna 206 aircraft from the Nevada Wing.
13 of the same type aircraft from the California Wing.
A Gippsland G8 AirVan equipped with ARCHER imaging technology from the Utah Wing.
Two UH-58 and two Blackhawk helicopters from the Nevada Army National Guard.
One Hughes 500 helicopter.
A sonar-equipped boat searching the waters of Walker Lake from Washoe County Search and Rescue.
More than 200 ground search personnel have been combing the rugged hills and four-wheel-drive tracks and trails in the search area, thanks to law enforcement from Douglas, Inyo and Mono counties in California in addition to teams from Lyon and Mineral counties in Nevada. Also donating time and resources has been Silver State Helicopters of Las Vegas.
Additional figures from efforts Sept. 7 in Minden included: about 24 flights, 23 1/2 hours spent in grid search areas and 34 personnel, each averaging a 10-hour duty period, for 340 man-hours. An aerial search of more than half of the 10,000 square mile search area has been completed. More than 50 flight hours were flown in Sept. 7.
As the search progresses, emphasis has been taken off the playas and dry lakebeds that Fossett was earlier reported to have been scouting in preparation for a land speed record attempt. The focus in now on going back to for a better look at search grids that high winds and turbulence had prevented searchers from examining closely.
Search planners also want to go back over some of the most likely areas at differing times of day in order to get differently lit views of terrain that could be hiding the target.
The effort Sept. 8 will include 10 aircraft -- eight Cessna 182s and two Cessna 206s -- from the Nevada Wing in Minden, with support from the Nevada Army National Guard and two private Hughes 500 helicopters. In addition, the Hilton Flying M Ranch is sending 11 private helicopters and nine airplanes to assist searchers. The helicopters are particularly useful in that they can fly closer to terrain -- 500 feet above the ground -- and can quickly be sent in to verify possible targets and areas of high interest.
Hilton Flying M Ranch employees are working seamlessly with CAP and the other participating agencies so that efforts are not duplicated and safety is maintained at all times.
September 08, 2007
NEVADA – Frustrated, but not undaunted, search crews from the Nevada and California wings of the U.S. Civil Air Patrol, the Nevada Army and Air National Guard, in addition to ground crews from Nevada and California county sheriffs' departments, have converged for a sixth day of intensive search effort for aviator Steve Fossett.
It is believed Fossett could have gone anywhere in the nearly 17,000-square-mile search area during his flight Sept. 3 from the Flying M Ranch near Yerington, Nev. Ground reports during his takeoff said he flew south from the ranch.
Morale at the Minden, Nev., airport incident command post, where the search efforts are being coordinated, remains high, based in no small part on successful outcomes of past searches that may have seemed hopeless as days stretched on.
Maximum resources from multiple agencies and jurisdictions under a unified command structure are still being committed to the intensive effort. On Sept. 7 they included:
Seven single-engine Cessna 182 and two Cessna 206 aircraft from the Nevada Wing.
13 of the same type aircraft from the California Wing.
A Gippsland G8 AirVan equipped with ARCHER imaging technology from the Utah Wing.
Two UH-58 and two Blackhawk helicopters from the Nevada Army National Guard.
One Hughes 500 helicopter.
A sonar-equipped boat searching the waters of Walker Lake from Washoe County Search and Rescue.
More than 200 ground search personnel have been combing the rugged hills and four-wheel-drive tracks and trails in the search area, thanks to law enforcement from Douglas, Inyo and Mono counties in California in addition to teams from Lyon and Mineral counties in Nevada. Also donating time and resources has been Silver State Helicopters of Las Vegas.
Additional figures from efforts Sept. 7 in Minden included: about 24 flights, 23 1/2 hours spent in grid search areas and 34 personnel, each averaging a 10-hour duty period, for 340 man-hours. An aerial search of more than half of the 10,000 square mile search area has been completed. More than 50 flight hours were flown in Sept. 7.
As the search progresses, emphasis has been taken off the playas and dry lakebeds that Fossett was earlier reported to have been scouting in preparation for a land speed record attempt. The focus in now on going back to for a better look at search grids that high winds and turbulence had prevented searchers from examining closely.
Search planners also want to go back over some of the most likely areas at differing times of day in order to get differently lit views of terrain that could be hiding the target.
The effort Sept. 8 will include 10 aircraft -- eight Cessna 182s and two Cessna 206s -- from the Nevada Wing in Minden, with support from the Nevada Army National Guard and two private Hughes 500 helicopters. In addition, the Hilton Flying M Ranch is sending 11 private helicopters and nine airplanes to assist searchers. The helicopters are particularly useful in that they can fly closer to terrain -- 500 feet above the ground -- and can quickly be sent in to verify possible targets and areas of high interest.
Hilton Flying M Ranch employees are working seamlessly with CAP and the other participating agencies so that efforts are not duplicated and safety is maintained at all times.
posted by Squadron150 at 3:53 PM
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