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Way OT: Steve Fossett accident

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  • #1

    Way OT: Steve Fossett accident

    A friend gave me a year old copy of an Air and Space magazine last week. Inside there is an interesting article on crashes and ELT technology. The first page had a sentence about Steve Fossett's accident that I found absurd:

    "The seat belts in the Bellanca had been unbuckled. Fossett appears to have survived the impact and staggered away from his airplane ."

    Now I know the remains and other personal effects were found away from the wreckage , but I thought this was due to animals, weather, etc... I proceeded to look at the NTSB report and it states this was a high speed accident with downdrafts of 400 FPM and the impact severely fragmented and destroyed the airplane. And it states the front seat frame was crushed and deformed to 1/3 rd it's size. The autopsy stated it was multiple traumatic injuries. Have a look at the article, NTSB report and the photos of the wreck. I just cannot fathom that anybody could survive this and be conscious enough to unbuckle, get out of the flames and escape. I posted a comment on the page and also wrote a letter to the writer and editor. None of the reports I've ever seen state that Steve survived the crash. What do you guys think?

    Article
    http://www.airspacemag.com/flight-to...l?device=ipad#

    NTSB

    http://www.ntsb.gov/aviationquery/br...07FA277&akey=1

    The photos

    http://www.google.com/search?q=steve...=1024&bih=672#
    Last edited by John H; 10-31-2012, 10:31 PM.
    Tags: None
  • #2
    Re: Way OT: Steve Fossett accident

    John,

    Never having flown a 'conventional' wheeled aircraft, so did some cerfing.

    per the POH for a similar model Citabria -
    PLACARDS : On Instrument Panel "Occupy Front Seat When Flying Solo"
    and
    PREFLIGHT INSPECTION : Seat Belts -CHECK CONDITION -SECURE rear belt and harness if not in use

    per the NTSB -
    REAR SEAT : The conventional lap belt was buckled and the shoulder harness was hooked to the buckle.
    The 5-point buckle had one of the belts buckled; this belt fell out when the buckle was moved.
    and
    FRONT SEAT : The conventional lap belt for the front seat was unbuckled, and its two halves were found in the vicinity of the fuselage.
    The 5-point buckle for the front seat was found near the fuselage with none of the belts buckled to it.
    Last edited by Tibia; 10-31-2012, 11:30 PM.

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    • #3
      Re: Way OT: Steve Fossett accident

      I had heard this before, When I heard it, I had two thoughts. First I thought it might be possible that a bear had taken a swipe and in doing so a claw might have lifted the buckel to unhook the seat belt. Second, it's possible that Fossett had undone the seat belt while just flying around, and things happened so fast he didn't have time to buckle it before the crash......yes I know required crewmembers have to have seatbelts on.
      Brian

      Comment

      • #4
        Re: Way OT: Steve Fossett accident

        How many crashes were so violent , the belted occupants were ejected from the wreck?

        Comment

        • #5
          Re: Way OT: Steve Fossett accident

          Originally posted by supercub View Post
          Second, it's possible that Fossett had undone the seat belt while just flying around, and things happened so fast he didn't have time to buckle it before the crash.
          Or his hands were busy trying to keeps things upright.

          Remember well helping with the internet group search via the supplied graphics. Didn't find anything in my quadrant.

          Bob

          Comment

          • #6
            Re: Way OT: Steve Fossett accident

            As someone that worked for Steve in his final days, and also someone that saw the crash site photos I can say for sure that he did not survive the impact or walk away. The bones of his feet were still under what was left of the panel. He was a tough old cat, but not that tough.
            Attached Files

            Comment

            • #7
              Re: Way OT: Steve Fossett accident

              Man I wish someone would pick up that program again. Sure would be a lot more realistic challenger than the F-104 on wheels.

              Comment

              • #8
                Re: Way OT: Steve Fossett accident

                Just a guess, I have a lot of time in a Citabria, they do have the ratchet harness belts. Possible he unhooked for a bit more movement as he was cruising around and when he hit the downdraft he had no time to buckle back in.

                I have experience some of the same, flying throughout the Rockies, a wind gust across a ridge and slam, also have flown up a ridge with the power at idle and climbed at 2000 ft per min.

                Steve was one of kind, tail winds sir.

                Comment

                • #9
                  Re: Way OT: Steve Fossett accident

                  Here you go Race 5. This looks like more that the 104 and with these guys history I would not bet against them.

                  海外FX業者を比較！本当にオススメできる業者はどこ？ | ユウのFX攻略ガイド
                  http://www.bloodhoundssc.com/
                  ユウのFX攻略ガイドでは、管理人のユウがFX会社の選び方からトレード手法まで詳しく解説しています。主に海外FXで大きく稼ぐ方法にスポットを当てており、小額から大きな利益を得たい方に役立つ情報を提供していきます。


                  If you mean American Challenger I am with you on that. Seems like we have fallen short for some time.
                  Last edited by wyhdah; 11-02-2012, 01:06 PM.

                  Comment

                  • #10
                    Re: Way OT: Steve Fossett accident

                    Originally posted by wyhdah View Post
                    Here you go Race 5. This looks like more that the 104 and with these guys history I would not bet against them.

                    海外FX業者を比較！本当にオススメできる業者はどこ？ | ユウのFX攻略ガイド
                    http://www.bloodhoundssc.com/
                    ユウのFX攻略ガイドでは、管理人のユウがFX会社の選び方からトレード手法まで詳しく解説しています。主に海外FXで大きく稼ぐ方法にスポットを当てており、小額から大きな利益を得たい方に役立つ情報を提供していきます。


                    If you mean American Challenger I am with you on that. Seems like we have fallen short for some time.
                    Yeah the Bloodhound guys can do it, but what an overly complicated beast that is. I actually think the Aussie Invader 5 could get there first if they find funding.

                    Comment

                    • #11
                      Re: Way OT: Steve Fossett accident

                      Thanks for these responses, especially Wild Bill. I admired Steve and it was such a sad deal to lose him this way.

                      Comment

                      • #12
                        Re: Way OT: Steve Fossett accident

                        Based on your experience and the investigation information what do you think caused the crash? Do you think he unknowingly flew into a downdraft and the plane could not climb fast enough and it crashed?

                        Originally posted by Airpirate View Post
                        Just a guess, I have a lot of time in a Citabria, they do have the ratchet harness belts. Possible he unhooked for a bit more movement as he was cruising around and when he hit the downdraft he had no time to buckle back in.

                        I have experience some of the same, flying throughout the Rockies, a wind gust across a ridge and slam, also have flown up a ridge with the power at idle and climbed at 2000 ft per min.

                        Steve was one of kind, tail winds sir.

                        Comment

                        • #13
                          Re: Way OT: Steve Fossett accident

                          Skyvan, I'm no expert, but the NTSB report clearly stated the day Steve chose to fly there were a number of reports of choppy conditions that day. They also reported the strong down drafts exceeded the airplane's capability plus ceiling altitude also robbed it of horsepower. It sounds as though yes, Steve just got caught in something beyond his control . Nobody could have flown out of that. I personally don't think he did anything stupid ,or made a terrible mistake, as with some accidents. It was just wrong place at the wrong time.
                          Last edited by John H; 11-03-2012, 08:18 PM.

                          Comment

                          • #14
                            Re: Way OT: Steve Fossett accident

                            John

                            Are there warnings on aviation maps or radios that warn you to avoid these areas when there are downdrafts either when they are a safety issue or all the time?

                            These reports of choppy conditions, are they immediately shared over radios as warnings or do they remain with the pilots who flew in that area and surfaced only after the accident?

                            Is there a radar system in use in this area that tracks every airplanes flight, ie time, direction, alitude, airspeed...? As I remember, there was a large search for his airplane and it was months before it was found, as though nobody new exactly where he crashed, even though it was in a relatively small area?

                            Did he remain in the airplane after it crashed and die there or was he able to walk/crawl out of it and die elsewhere?

                            Seems as if his death was easily avoidable. He had the money to buy any gizmo/gadget that would have notified him of dangerous flying conditions and he had 6,000 plus flight hours of experience.

                            Originally posted by John H View Post
                            Skyvan, I'm no expert, but the NTSB report clearly stated the day Steve chose to fly there were a number of reports of choppy conditions that day. They also reported the strong down drafts exceeded the airplane's capability plus ceiling altitude also robbed it of horsepower. It sounds as though yes, Steve just got caught in something beyond his control . Nobody could have flown out of that. I personally don't think he did anything stupid ,or made a terrible mistake, as with some accidents. It was just wrong place at the wrong time.
                            Last edited by SkyvanDelta; 11-03-2012, 09:03 PM.

                            Comment

                            • #15
                              Re: Way OT: Steve Fossett accident

                              Hi Skyvan,

                              I will leave this to the experts, cant comment on downdraft warnings. If you look at the report and the pics its clear this accident was like my coworker described , like slamming a Toyota Carolla into a wall at 100mph, just no chance of Steve getting out.

                              Comment

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