Steve Fossett search continues MILLIONAIRE American adventurer Steve Fossett is missing after the small plane he was flying disappeared over Nevada. Picture: Richard Branson and Steve Fossett in 2002

Rescue teams searched a broad swath of rugged terrain in western Nevada yesterday near the ranch where he took off, but a Federal Aviation Administration spokesman said searchers had little to go on because Fossett had not filed a flight plan.

Fossett, who has cheated death several times in his successful bid to break aviation records, set off alone in the single-engine plane to scout locations for a land-speed record the previous day.

"They are working on some leads, but they don't know where he is right now," the spokesman said.

Fossett, the first person to circle the world solo in a balloon, took off alone at 8.45am on Monday (local time) from an airstrip at hotel magnate Barron Hilton's Flying M Ranch, about 110km southeast of Reno.

Authorities said a friend reported the 63-year-old missing when he did not return. Civil Air Patrol spokeswoman Cynthia Ryan said ground crews and 13 aircraft were searching for Fossett, with teams doing grid searches over hundreds of square kilometres.

"We are committing maximum resources to this effort," she said.

"As far as we know now, it is still a rescue mission."

Ms Ryan said gusty winds were hampering the search.

John Kugler, a longtime friend who taught the adventurer how to balloon, said Fossett was a careful, capable flyer and he held out hope that his buddy would be found alive.

"They're going to find him on a mountainside," Mr Kugler said. "He's going to be hungry and want some good food."

Fossett's wife Peggy has refused to comment.

In 2002, Fossett, who lives between homes in California and Colorado, became the first person to fly around the world alone in a balloon.

In two weeks, his balloon flew 31,267.5km around the southern hemisphere.

The record came after five previous attempts -- some of them spectacular and frightening failures.

Three years later, in March 2005, he became the first person to fly a plane solo around the world without refuelling.

He and a co-pilot also claimed to have set a world glider altitude record of 15,445m during a flight in August 2006 over the Andes.

Fossett has climbed some of the world's tallest peaks, including the Matterhorn in Switzerland and Mount Kilimanjaro in Tanzania. 

He also swam the English Channel in 1985, placed 47th in the Iditarod dog sled race in 1992 and participated in the 24 Hours of Le Mans car race in 1996.

In 1995, Fossett became the first person to fly solo across the Pacific Ocean in a balloon, landing in Leader, Saskatchewan, Canada.

Fossett was inducted into the National Aviation Hall of Fame in July and told a crowd gathered at the Ohio ceremony that he would continue flying. "I'm hoping you didn't give me this award because you think my career is complete, because I'm not done," Fossett said.

Fossett said he planned to go to Argentina in November in an effort to break a glider record.

SOURCE | http://www.news.com.au/heraldsun/story/0,21985,22370053-5012748,00.html