Rescuers are searching for world aviation record holder Steve Fossett after his plane was reported missing.
The 63-year-old was last seen taking off from the Hilton Ranch south of Smith Valley, Nevada, on Monday night in a single engine Citabria Super Decathlon heading south.
The US millionaire holds the record for flying further than anyone in history, was the first person to fly solo around the world in a balloon, and the first person to fly a plane solo around the world without refuelling.
Teams have been searching hundreds of square kilmoetres of rugged terrain in western Nevada for the adventurer.
Apparantly Mr Fossett does not appear to have filed a flight plan, which was hampering the search.
Mr Fossett took off in the single engine Bellanca at 8.45am local time on Monday from a private airstrip in western Nevada and did not return as scheduled. A friend reported him missing.
It is understood he would have had four to five hours of fuel in the plane and was not wearing a parachute.
Last year, Mr Fossett smashed the record for flying further than anyone in history. Mr Fossett flew 42469km in the Virgin Atlantic Global Flyer and the record-breaking journey lasted 76 hours and 45 minutes, beating the former record of 40814km set by the Breitling Orbiter balloon in 1999.
In March 2005, he became the first person to fly a plane solo around the world without refuelling. And in 2002, Mr Fossett was the first person to fly around the world alone in a balloon.
In two weeks, his balloon flew 31266km around the Southern Hemisphere after five previous attempts.
