Noel O'Neill
Missing American Aviator.
By N,O'N.
24, Sep 2007 - 18:49

A jubilant Steve Fossett photographed at Ballyconnelly Golf Course where he landed after a Trans-Atlantic flight.

The photo shows a tired, but smiling Steve Fossett taken just moments after he completed an 19-hour trip across the Atlantic in a replica of a W.W.1 Vickers Vimy bomber in 2005.  The flight was undertaken to commemorate the epic 1919 flight of Alcock and Brown. Mr. Fossett  posed for this photo for me in spite of the fact that there were hundreds of press people milling around. We chatted for a few moments and he shook hands as we parted, and I thought to myself 'what a nice warm man'.

Sadly, Mr. Fossett went missing two weeks ago on a flight in Nevada and despite a massive search by many aircraft and the use of satellite surveillance, no trace of him has yet been found, and at this point it is unlikely that he will be found alive.