Just sitting on the outside, I would say that the chance of the airraft being intact is small, The aircraft is a tube frame covered in fabric, this tend to fold up in an accident. I also
find it troubling that the ELT has not been heard, either by satulite of the search aircraft. The search from satilite photos has a very low chance of sucess, but is better than nothing.

Has anyone considered having "before" and "after"
images available.

Some great discussion by people who really know how to use Google Earth is here:
http://bbs.keyhole.com/ubb/showflat.php/Cat/0/Number/992512/page/0/fpart/1/vc/1

Some have even found whole airplanes, probably in flight!

I worked 30 different coordinates then panned and zoomed and scrolled around the points looking for stuff. Reported about 17 different anomalies but I don't think the resolution is there. And the wreckage is probably crumpled so is even less likely to be detectable with that image resolution. Just for scale consider that the wingspan is about the width of a 2 lane road. Now break the wings off. Would a single wing be discernable?

That they are finding old wrecks previously unknown is a sign that they are really doing a great job combing the territory.

Actually, that's how this is supposed to work. They show you an image taken since Fossett disappeared, and also provide you with Google Map coordinates.

If you see an anomaly in the recent photo you're shown, you can paste the coordinates into Google Map and compare, looking for differences.

You then report whether you did or didn't see something you think an expert should review. Multiple people are presented the same image to help normalize what's reported.

Hi Chris,

Actually the 'woo woo' crowds latest conspiracy is that the Fossett search is nothing more than a cover story to help find a nuclear cruise missile which fell of a B52, which took off with 6 nuclear cruise missiles from Minot AFB and landed with 5 at Barksdale AFB. Gee you really have to give them credit for imaginative thinking. Hmm lets see how big is a AGM 129 compared to the aircraft Steve Fosset went missing in. Sorry I just couldn't help myself

I've gotta wonder; if this was John Q who was missing, would anyone be going to all this trouble???

I totally agree. No dis-respect to Mr. Fossett and the thousands of volunteers looking for him. I can only hope the next time an airplane goes down or a person(s) goes missing in the wilderness that the same amount of attention, help and dollars would be directed to help in John Q's search...

Just stumbled across this article on msnbc.com

Private search effort for Fossett raises concerns.
Officials worry volunteers who want to help may not have proper training

MINDEN, Nev. - Authorities worried Monday that a call for private volunteers to help the government search the rugged Nevada wilderness for missing aviator Steve Fossett may attract people who don't have proper training and could ultimately need saving themselves.

On Monday, Sanford explained he was most concerned with the possibility that untrained searchers would begin conducting independent ground searches in the rugged, sparsely populated areas where Fossett is believed to be lost. Government-backed searchers also have followed false leads submitted by people looking at satellite images of the area available on the Internet, he said.

The complete article is here.

Quoting from the article:



I find that an odd statement. Wouldn't government-backed searchers first double-check the images themselves before going out? If the images do not look promising then they can decide not to search the area. But if they do look promising then what's the problem?

Gov't backed searchers aren't necessarily satellite imagery analyst geeks. They're just pilots who drink beer and chase loose women when they aren't flying