I participated in the GE search for Fossett.

I went back and looked at the site on GE and there was no possible way the GE search was going to work.

The resolution wasn't there and the wreckage was only a burned skeleton of fuselage rather than intact wingtips. Pictures of the wreck site (taken on foot) suggest the fuselage tubing would look like tree branches from just a few meters away.

Some folks alerted on totally routine things (like blue tarps put up by outfitters) and had to be talked down.

Without the resolution the extra eyes have no value. But if there is high resolution but not enough educated eyes to scan it all - then the crowd starts to offer a chance. But the Fossett search also revealed the lack of skill in photo interpretation and the energy required to deal with the false alerts.