I heard the weather was good, but that doesn't mean he didn't catch some bad air while he was checking sites to set a land speed record. On that thought, it seems to me this is something done from low altitude. Low altitude, low speed, highly maneuverable aircraft. . . over-confidence. . . one little burble. . . I wonder how low he was flying. . . I don't feel confident we'll see Steve Fossett walking again, hope I'm wrong.

Look at the search area: "Fossett's single-engine plane vanished Monday over a section Nevada east of Lake Tahoe and the California border that is marked by rugged mountains jutting to 10,000 feet, steep canyons and sagebrush-filled desert." LA Times article

Not exactly the "dry lake bed" Fossett was looking for. Air currents in the Sierras can be really nasty.

Break

My EDC grew from my time in aviation. There's a small amount of gear you always take, it might be a helmet bag, a small backpack, a survival vest you always wear, whatever. These days my helmet bag has a liter of water, maybe a sandwich, headset, notebook, multi-tool, RSK Mk1 and if I felt any need for a PLB there would be one of those too. Fossett left his sat-phone on the ground; what else did he leave? The Citabria Super Decathlon is small, but it's not so small that a helmet bag can't go along.