A search is continuing for US millionaire and adventurer Steve Fossett, who disappeared over the over the Nevada desert on Monday.
Mr Fossett went missing after taking off in a small plane to scout sites for an attempt to set a world land speed record.
The US Federal Aviation Administration said the 63-year-old was reported missing after taking off from a ranch in a single-engine aircraft.
A total of 13 aircraft have been scrambled in the search for the plane, which was equipped with a satellite tracking system.
However, it is not known if the tracking system had indicated Mr Fossett's last known location and his failure to lodge a flight plan before take-off is slowing efforts to locate him.
A multi-millionaire who made his fortune dealing stocks in Chicago, Mr Fossett (left) has spent the past two decades chasing world records and shattering them.
He survived numerous brushes with death during a series of record-breaking solo flights around the world by balloon and plane.
The adventurer made the first solo non-stop, non-refuelled circumnavigation of the world in 67 hours in the Virgin Atlantic GlobalFlyer. And in 2002, he was the first person to fly solo around the world in a balloon.
A tireless athlete, he has also swam across the English Channel, raced in the Ironman Triathlon and completed the gruelling 1,887km Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race across Alaska.
British tycoon Richard Branson, who partnered Mr Fossett on earlier attempts to circle the globe in a balloon, said in a statement that he was confident his friend would be found alive.
