Possible Fossett Items Found Near Mammoth Lakes

[SCPD]

Way off topic but just wanted to pass on well wishes for a good recovery. Back when I was a young buck I was playing some nieghborhood football and my brother put an around-the-waist tackle on me. The physics of the tackle and wet grass lead to my left foot slipping out to the left alllll the waaaaay......crack! Snapped the femur just below the the ball neck at about a 45 degree angle and pie wedge shattered the lower section down to the knee. Ouch. I was in traction in the Hospital for a little over a month and then a body cast from armpits to left toes for 6 weeks. While on crutches following that I fell down the steps and hit my ankle on a cast iron radiator, shattering that, my ankle that is, the radiator was fine........I was either in traction, casts or on crutches from Dec 13 to June 1 with a long rehab after that. I know you don't feel so lucky right now but being able to get around (somewhat) on crutches only a month after your injury is actually pretty darn good! I wish you a speedy and complete recovery! And I hear you about the Percocet, I hate the "feeling" (or lack of) so much I went through two ruptured achilles tendons without it. I was very sore and kinda grumpy but at least I knew what was going on.
Again, get well soon!

Thanks for the well wishes! The leg is getting stronger every day and the pain is lessening. I so want to put weight on it and start the strengthing process. The surgeon says 3-4 more weeks of rest. It is a critical time to keep the weight off the bone, but I'm so ready to return to more activity and sleep in the same bed with my wife. I'm told not to give in to temptation and tough it out. Oh well, by next spring this should be one more memory among the many I carry.

 

[Eng74]

Glad to hear your getting better.

 

[scannerboy02]

Sheriff To Hold Press Conference Re: Steve Fossett

DATE: Thursday October 30, 2008

TO: NEWS MEDIA

RE: SHERIFF TO HOLD PRESS CONFERENCE RE: STEVE FOSSETT


Sheriff John Anderson is scheduled to hold a press conference today concerning the latest developments of the Steve Fossett Search & Recovery mission.


DATE: TODAY - THURSDAY OCTOBER 30

TIME: 4:00 PM

PLACE: Madera County Sheriff's Department
14143 Road 28, Madera CA 93638


All questions pertaining to the Steve Fossett Coroner investigation will be addressed by Sheriff Anderson at 4:00 PM.


No information is being released before this afternoon's scheduled press conference.


Once again - all questions regarding the Steve Fossett recovery mission will be answered at 4:00 PM this afternoon.


A press release will be issued immediately following the press conference.


####

Erica H. Stuart, Public Information Officer
Madera County Sheriff's Department
14143 Road 28
Madera, CA 93638

 

[SCPD]

A local news station reported that Fosset's Illinois driver license, some credit cards, tennis shoes, and some bones were found. The location was either 1/4 or 1/2 mile from the crash site. I have not watched the news today so I don't know the latest news. A very wet snowfall fell at fell above town, but down to 9,000 feet or lower. As it is late October this snow will probably last through the winter season. For the sake of the investigation it is good that we had some warm weather that melted much of the snow at the crash site, allowing these latest items to be found.

 

[poltergeisty]

Head Winds Made Plane Appear To Stand Still

FOXNews.com - Camper Says He Saw Fossett's Plane 'Standing Still' in Air Before Crash - Local News | News Articles | National News | US News

 

[scannerboy02]

NTSB DETERMINES THE PROBABLE CAUSE OF THE 2007 PLANE CRASH INVOLVING STEVE FOSSETT WAS AN ENCOUNTER WITH DOWNDRAFTS

SB-09-35

 

[karldotcom]

I just read that....interesting.....

 

[SCPD]

Flying on the lee side of the Sierra can be interesting. Although in this case Fossett was west of the actual Pacific crest, but the crest in this area follows a gentle ridge and over Mammoth Mountain and lacks an escarpment. Fossett was flying just east of the Ritter Range, which includes the Minarets, a steep escarpment similar to the rest of the steep granitic face of the southern Sierra.

The east side of these major escarpments has strong eddies and wild up and down drafts. Back in the late 80's I was flying on air patrol near Bridgeport and we hit some interesting air on the lee side of the crest. Pretty wild, but not too fun at the time. The stall alarm was singing for 4-5 seconds and the pilot later said if it sounds a few more seconds the aircraft starts breaking up.

Downdrafts, at least at ground level, are more typical in the late afternoon or evening when cooler higher elevation air starts to sink into valleys. This accounts for most of the sundowner wind phenomena. I think Fossett's crash occurred earlier in the day.

In wildland firefighting a person becomes more aware of locally influenced climate effects. The difference between ground level and higher elevation winds is the subject of training. Later on, while on fire assignments, these factors are demonstrated when observing the aircraft assigned to fires. Fossett's accident is an unfortunate reminder of this.