Aviation adventurer Steve Fossett missing during Citabria Super Decathlon flight

Aviation adventurer Steve Fossett is believed to be missing in the Nevada desert.

The Chicago businessman and millionaire adventurer who routinely has defied death in his pursuit of aviation records and other madcap adventures is the subject of a massive search by Nevada civil air patrol.

More than a dozen rescue aircraft launched a grid search of the remote terrain near the Hilton Ranch in western Nevada from which Fossett took off Monday morning on what was to have been an easy three-hour flight.

The Citabria Super Decathlon aircraft Fossett was seen taking off in is blue and white and the terrain in the area of the Hilton ranch is rugged and sparsely populated. He had not filed a flight plan.

Fossett is best known for his around-the-world flight in a balloon with Virgin Atlantic boss Richard Branson, as well as the non-stop circumnavigation flight in a single-engine aircraft. He has also swum the length of the Golden Gate Bridge at night and was due to attempt a world land speed record attempt in Nevada.

Source: FlightGlobal.com