Here is the NTSB investigation report. http://www.ntsb.gov/ntsb/brief2.asp?ev_ ... 277&akey=1

So what does it sound like? He tried to outclimb a downdraft?

I would think that trying to outclimb a downdraft would result in fairly low speed. Everything in the accident report suggests to me that it was a high speed impact. Also, he impacted going upslope. If you've got that much speed, I would think you could trade it for altitude and get turned around.

We will never know, but I wonder if he might have had a heart attack or stroke.

kevbert wrote:We will never know, but I wonder if he might have had a heart attack or stroke.

Occam's Razor

High winds, flying on the lee side of the Sierra, *splat*

Although one could argue that even a young man might have a stroke trying to outclimb the downdrafts that occur in that area.

Wreckage 100 and 200 feet scattered uphill after hitting a rock. What a way to end.

I am very green to mountian flying. If he got cought in a down draft and went for best climb (75 mph?) a 30 mph tail wind would have put him at 105 mph ground speed? Maybe he pushed the nose over to get into an up draft in the rising terrain raising his ground speed even more?

I fly regularly in the Sierras and have spent many hours maneuvering in the same area that the accident occurred. It's very easy to get into a place where your best rate of climb will not do the job. As long as you are in a position to turn out of it, you will be fine. It can happen in some fairly benign conditions too.

Seems to me I read where the plane ran into a fence and had to have the prop replaced like a week or so earlier.
There was no mention of the engine being torn down and inspected.
If I were the widow, I would want to see the log book entries associated with that prop strike incident.

I have read several articles on the disaterous consequences of not adhering to Lycoming's edict on the subject.
Hearsay has it that the FAA considers it critical enough that there have been line checks where a plane was red tagged for grass on the prop.

If I were the widow, I would want to see the log book entries associated with that prop strike incident.
Is that what you would want your widow to do Trimtab sue your friends for letting you fly their plane?
I think the widow is doing fine with what she's got. I do believe that they were both friends with the Baron.

Trimtab, I'm not sure what you're angling at with a post like that......Reads like you're chumming for ambulance chasers. You really think a guy with Hilton's money and intelligence is going to half ass something like this? The guy probably blows more than an engine teardown's worth of cash a week at the bar for criminy's sake.

You might want to read the report again. The previous propstrike was addressed, and while the crankshaft was found to be broken after Fossett's untimely demise, so was the hub of the brand new prop. Further, chordwise gouging and both tips broken are a pretty good clue that the thing was still making power on impact. If the crank was junk before he hit the ground you really think they would moved on to the meterological modeling? I'd have an extremely hard time believing the broken crank was anything other than the direct result of Fossett's prop strike.......especially considering the resultant debris field.

Fossett's luck card had been punched one too many times. We could all be there someday if our luck runs out when the options are few. Shit happens. But alleging malfeasance based on words that are not in an NTSB summary is a bit extreme, don't you think?

Flynengr

Not interested in lawsuits, just a possible cause/answer!

It's still pretty amazing that the most famous aviator on earth can disappear without a trace for more than a year in my own backyard. Flying up to central Nevada just isn't the same anymore since they found the wreck...

My favorite line in the accident report: "The pilot's personal pilot was standing by to assist in parking the airplane". I need to get me one of those...

I can't believe I didn't think of this earlier. The REAL PROBLEM is that Fossett DID NOT have a 406 ELT!! If he had one, there is no doubt he would have been found within minutes of the crash. Don't believe me, as Transport Canada or the Mexican equivalent, ICAO?

No disrespect meant to the family or the searchers. Glad the FAA has a moment of sanity. Good thing Homeland Security isn't in charge.

The statement above that a 406 Mhz locator would have solved the search problem seems a bit on strung out on
Hopeium. Technology, while nice to have, does not imply that your ass is completely covered!

The KEY problems with any of these devices is, will / did the device itself survive the crash, much less the associated wiring and antenna connections.

Re-reading the crash report above and having seen some of the photos,
I doubt that any electroninc device would have survived that grinding, strung out crash.
I once worked on the first AMPEX MR-100 Missle recorder, and have seen and repaired some of the "recovered" units after they crashed. Not Pretty.

A lot of these devices reportedly fail because the transmitter becomes separated from the antenna, or the plane goes on its back and sticks the antenna into the ground.

I personally have my PLB mounted where I can trigger it with either hand while still flying the plane,
and if things look like they are not going to have a comfortable outcome. I would turn it on as soon as I become committed to a ugly result. Better to get some form of signal out while there is a chance of the signal getting out. Have even thought of designing a small parachute for the damned thing so it might survive even better, and still end up close by.