US:US adventurer Steve Fossett, who made record-breaking solo flights around the world by plane and balloon, is missing after taking off in Nevada in a small aircraft, aviation authorities said yesterday.
The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) said Fossett (63) was reported missing on Monday night after taking off from a ranch in a single-engine aircraft in the morning.
The FAA said the millionaire did not file a flight plan, nor was one required.
Fossett had not been in communication with air traffic controllers and no distress signal had been received.
"It's rough, mountainous terrain there - there are not a lot of roads out there...Picture, if you will, Afghanistan," said Cdr Douglas Russell of the naval air station in Fallon, Nevada.
The navy had dispatched a helicopter to help in the search alongside a civil air patrol.
Fossett spokesman Stuart Radnofsky said Fossett had been visiting the "Flying M" ranch owned by Barron Hilton, which he described as a popular sport flying centre.
Fossett, who earned his fortune as a financial trader, in 2002 became the first person to fly a balloon solo around the world and then in 2005 he achieved the first solo, non-stop flight around the world in the Virgin Atlantic GlobalFlyer aircraft.