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Fossett searchers 'spot wreckage' Wreck 'seems to be Fossett plane'
(about 2 hours later)
Teams searching for missing adventurer Steve Fossett have spotted what looks like the wreckage of a plane in eastern California, local police say. Teams searching for missing adventurer Steve Fossett have found what appears to be the wreckage of his plane in eastern California, officials say.
An aerial spotter made the discovery late on Wednesday, and teams are going to the area to investigate, a Madera County Sheriff's spokeswoman said. The National Transportation Safety Board said searchers had found a single-engine Bellanca Super Decathlon plane near the town of Mammoth Lakes.
The search began after a hiker found items thought to belong to Mr Fossett.The search began after a hiker found items thought to belong to Mr Fossett.
The 63-year-old vanished a year ago while on a solo flight that took off from neighbouring Nevada. The 63-year-old vanished in September last year while on a solo flight that took off from neighbouring Nevada.
class="bodl" href="#map">Click here to see a map of the area
The millionaire businessman was officially declared dead in February. A wide-ranging search operation conducted since then had failed to find any trace of the millionaire businessman or his plane and he was legally declared dead by a court in Chicago in February.
Click here to see a map of the area
Wide-ranging searches had failed to find any trace of Mr Fossett or his plane following his disappearance.
New search areaNew search area
Identity documents bearing Mr Fossett's name - including a pilot's licence - as well as cash and a sweatshirt were found by hiker Preston Morrow on Monday. Identity documents bearing Mr Fossett's name - including a pilot's licence - as well as cash and a sweatshirt were found by a hiker, Preston Morrow, on Monday.
SOME OF FOSSETT'S RECORDS 1998/2002: Long-distance for solo ballooning2001/2002: Duration for solo ballooning2002: First solo round-the-world balloon flightFirst balloon crossings of Asia, Africa, Europe, South America, South Atlantic, South Pacific, Indian OceansSeven fastest speed sailing titles13 World Sailing Speed Record Council titles2001: Fastest transatlantic sailing2004: Fastest round-the-world sailingRound-the-world titles for medium airplanesUS transcontinental titles for non-military aircraft class="" href="/1/hi/world/americas/7648259.stm">In pictures: Fossett's records class="" href="/1/hi/world/americas/2078591.stm">Profile: Steve Fossett He had been returning from a mountain walk when he spotted the items in dirt and pine needles west of the town of Mammoth Lakes.
He had been returning from a mountain walk when he spotted the items in dirt and pine needles. SOME OF FOSSETT'S RECORDS 1998/2002: Long-distance for solo ballooning2001/2002: Duration for solo ballooning2002: First solo round-the-world balloon flightFirst balloon crossings of Asia, Africa, Europe, South America, South Atlantic, South Pacific, Indian OceansSeven fastest speed sailing titles13 World Sailing Speed Record Council titles2001: Fastest transatlantic sailing2004: Fastest round-the-world sailingRound-the-world titles for medium airplanesUS transcontinental titles for non-military aircraft class="" href="/1/hi/world/americas/7648259.stm">In pictures: Steve Fossett class="" href="/1/hi/world/americas/2078591.stm">Profile: Steve Fossett
An employee at a sporting goods store, Mr Morrow said he handed them over to police after unsuccessful attempts to contact the Fossett family.An employee at a sporting goods store, Mr Morrow said he handed them over to police after unsuccessful attempts to contact the Fossett family.
The BBC's Rajesh Mirchandani, in Los Angeles, says the items were found outside the vast area searched after Mr Fossett went missing - and also in a different direction to that in which he was thought to have flown.The BBC's Rajesh Mirchandani, in Los Angeles, says the items were found outside the vast area searched after Mr Fossett went missing - and also in a different direction to that in which he was thought to have flown.
Mammoth Lakes has an elevation of about 7,800ft (2,400m) and is on the eastern side of the Sierra Nevada range.Mammoth Lakes has an elevation of about 7,800ft (2,400m) and is on the eastern side of the Sierra Nevada range.
It is about 100 miles (160km) from where Mr Fossett began his flight.It is about 100 miles (160km) from where Mr Fossett began his flight.
The Federal Aviation Administration, which would have issued the documentation, said it was confirming the documents' authenticity. The Federal Aviation Administration, which would have issued the discovered documents, said it was trying to confirm their authenticity.
Teams led by the Madera County sheriffs department began a search of the area following Mr Morrow's discovery. Teams led by the Madera County Sheriff's Department began a search of the area following Mr Morrow's discovery.
Mammoth Lake's community liaison officer, Stuart Brown, told the BBC that severe weather could hamper the search. Erica Stuart, a spokeswoman for the department, said what looked like plane wreckage had been spotted late on Wednesday night.
On Thursday morning, the National Transportation Safety Board said a small plane had been found that "appears to be the aircraft piloted by Steve Fossett".
It said the wreckage was located about 10,000ft (3,200m) up the Sierra Nevada mountains and an investigator had been sent to the scene.
But Mammoth Lakes' community liaison officer, Stuart Brown, told the BBC severe weather could hamper the search.
"We've got six to 12 inches of snow coming in Friday night, Saturday, with high winds - our first big storm of the season - so we'll just have to see how that affects the search.""We've got six to 12 inches of snow coming in Friday night, Saturday, with high winds - our first big storm of the season - so we'll just have to see how that affects the search."
But Erica Stuart, a spokeswoman for Madera County Sheriff's department, said what looked like plane wreckage had been spotted late on Wednesday night.
"Our teams are going in to that area, and we hope to know whether it is really plane wreckage, and if it is Fossett's or someone else's, by morning," she was quoted by the San Francisco Chronicle as saying.
Mr Fossett took off from the ranch of hotel magnate Barron Hilton, at Yerington, Nevada, on 3 September 2007 on a flight that was expected to last three hours.Mr Fossett took off from the ranch of hotel magnate Barron Hilton, at Yerington, Nevada, on 3 September 2007 on a flight that was expected to last three hours.
In 2002, he became the first person to circle the globe solo in a balloon and had about 100 other world records to his name.In 2002, he became the first person to circle the globe solo in a balloon and had about 100 other world records to his name.
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